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VOL.  I. 

EGYPTIAN  IDEAS  OF  THE 
FUTURE  LIFE 


PUBLISHERS’  NOTE. 


►o*— 


lx  the  year  1894  Dr.  Wallis  Budge  prepared  for  Messrs.  Kegan 
Paul,  Trench,  Triibner  &  Co.  an  elementary  work  on  the  Egyptian 
language,  entitled  “  First  Steps  in  Egyptian,”  and  two  years 
later  the  companion  volume,  “  An  Egyptian  Reading  Book,”  with 
transliterations  of  all  the  texts  printed  in  it,  and  a  full  vocabulary. 
The  success  of  these  works  proved  that  they  had  helped  to  satisfy 
a  want  long  felt  by  students  of  the  Egyptian  language,  and  as  a 
similar  want  existed  among  students  of  the  languages  written  in 
the  cuneiform  character,  Mr.  L.  W.  King,  of  the  British  Museum, 
prepared,  on  the  same  lines  as  the  two  books  mentioned  above, 
an  elementary  work  on  the  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  languages 
(“First  Steps  in  Assyrian”),  which  appeared  in  1898.  These 
works,  however,  dealt  mainly  with  the  philological  branch  of 
Egyptology  and  Assyriology,  and  it  was  impossible  in  the  space 
allowed  to  explain  much  that  needed  explanation  in  the  other 
branches  of  these  subjects — that  is  to  say,  matters  relating  to  the 
archaeology,  history,  religion,  etc.,  of  the  Egyptians,  Assyrians,  and 
Babylonians.  In  answer  to  the  numerous  requests  which  have 
been  made,  a  series  of  short,  popular  handbooks  on  the  most 
important  branches  of  Egyptology  and  Assyriology  have  been 
prepared,  and  it  is  hoped  that  these  will  serve  as  introductions  to 
the  larger  works  on  these  subjects.  The  present  is  the  first  volume 
of  the  series,  and  the  succeeding  volumes  will  be  published  at  short 
intervals,  and  at  moderate  prices. 


HBoofts  on  j£G£pt  ant)  Cbalbaja 


EGYPTIAN  IDEAS 

OF  THE 


FUTURE  LIFE 


KEEPER  OF  THE  EGYPTIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN  ANTIQUITIES 
IN  THE  BRITISH  MUSEUM 


WITH  EIGHT  ILLUSTRATIONS 


SECOND  EDITION 


LONDON 

KEGAN  PAUL,  TRENCH,  TRUBNER  &  CO.,  Lt° 

PATERNOSTER  HOUSE,  CHARING  CROSS  ROAD 

1900 


PRINTED  BY 

WILLIAM  CLOWES  AND  SONS,  LIMITED 
LONDON  AND  BECCLES. 


(  The  rights  of  translation  and  of  reproduction  are  reserved .) 


SIR  JOHN  EVANS,  K.C.B.,  D.C.L.,  F.R.S 


ETC.,  ETC.,  ETC. 


IN  GKATEFUL  REMEMBRANCE 

OF 

MUCH  FRIENDLY  HELP  AND  ENCOURAGEMENT. 


PREFACE. 


The  following  pages  are  intended  to  place  before  the 
reader  in  a  liandy  form  an  account  of  the  principal 
ideas  and  beliefs  held  by  the  ancient  Egyptians  con¬ 
cerning  the  resurrection  and  the  future  life,  which  is 
derived  wholly  from  native  religious  works.  The 
literature  of  Egypt  which  deals  with  these  subjects  is 
large  and,  as  was  to  be  expected,  the  product  of  different 
periods  which,  taken  together,  cover  several  thousands 
of  years;  and  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  at  times  to 
reconcile  the  statements  and  beliefs  of  a  writer  of  one 
period  with  those  of  a  writer  of  another.  Up  to  the 
present  no  systematic  account  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection  and  of  the  future  life  has  been  discovered, 
and  there  is  no  reason  for  hoping  that  such  a  thing  will 
ever  be  found,  for  the  Egyptians  do  not  appear  to  have 
thought  that  it  was  necessary  to  write  a  work  of  the 
kind.  The  inherent  difficulty  of  the  subject,  and  the 
natural  impossibility  that  different  men  living  in 


x  Preface. 

different  places  and  at  different  times  should  think 
alike  on  matters  which  must,  after  all,  belong  always 
to  the  region  of  faith,  render  it  more  than  probable  that 
no  college  of  priests,  however  powerful,  was  able  to 
formulate  a  system  of  beliefs  which  would  be  received 
throughout  Egypt  by  the  clergy  and  the  laity  alike,  and 
would  be  copied  by  the  scribes  as  a  final  and  authorita¬ 
tive  work  on  Egyptian  eschatology.  Besides  this,  the 
genius  and  structure  of  the  Egyptian  language  are  such 
as  to  preclude  the  possibility  of  composing  in  it  works 
of  a  philosophical  or  metaphysical  character  in  the  true 
sense  of  the  words.  In  spite  of  these  difficulties,  how¬ 
ever,  it  is  possible  to  collect  a  great  deal  of  important 
information  on  the  subject  from  the  funereal  and 
religious  works  which  have  come  down  to  us,  especially 
concerning  the  great  central  idea  of  immortality,  which 
existed  unchanged  for  thousands  of  years,  and  formed 
the  pivot  upon  which  the  religious  and  social  life  of 
the  ancient  Egyptians  actually  turned.  From  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  his  life  the  Egyptian’s  chief 
thought  was  of  the  life  beyond  the  grave,  and  the 
hewing  of  his  tomb  in  the  rock,  and  the  providing  of 
its  furniture,  every  detail  of  which  was  prescribed  by 
the  custom  of  the  country,  absorbed  the  best  thoughts 
of  his  mind  and  a  large  share  of  his  worldly  goods,  and 
kept  him  ever  mindful  of  the  time  when  his  mummified 


Preface. 


xi 


body  would  be  borne  to  his  “  everlasting  house  ”  in  the 
limestone  plateau  or  hill. 

The  chief  source  of  our  information  concerning  the 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection  and  of  the  future  life  as 
held  by  the  Egyptians  is,  of  course,  the  great  collection 
of  religious  texts  generally  known  by  the  name  of 
“  Book  of  the  Dead.”  The  various  recensions  of  these 
wonderful  compositions  cover  a  period  of  more  than 
five  thousand  years,  and  they  reflect  faithfully  not  only 
the  sublime  beliefs,  and  the  high  ideals,  and  the  noble 
aspirations  of  the  educated  Egyptians,  but  also  the 
various  superstitions  and  childish  reverence  for  amulets, 
and  magical  rites,  and  charms,  which  they  probably 
inherited  from  their  pre-dynastic  ancestors,  and  re¬ 
garded  as  essentials  for  their  salvation.  It  must  be 
distinctly  understood  that  many  passages  and  allusions 
in  the  Book  of  the  Dead  still  remain  obscure,  and 
that  in  some  places  any  translator  will  be  at  a  difficulty 
in  attempting  to  render  certain  important  words  into 
any  modern  European  language.  But  it  is  absurd  to 
talk  of  almost  the  whole  text  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead 
as  being  utterly  corrupt,  for  royal  personages,  and 
priests,  and  scribes,  to  say  nothing  of  the  ordinary 
educated  folk,  would  not  have  caused  costly  copies  of 
a  very  lengthy  work  to  be  multiplied,  and  illustrated  by 
artists  possessing  the  highest  skill,  unless  it  had  some 


Xll 


Preface. 


meaning  to  them,  and  was  necessary  for  the  attainment 
by  them  of  the  life  which  is  beyond  the  grave.  The 
“  finds  ”  of  recent  years  in  Egypt  have  resulted  in  the 
recovery  of  valuable  texts  whereby  numerous  difficulties 
have  been  cleared  away ;  and  we  must  hope  that  the 
faults  made  in  translating  to-day  may  be  corrected  by 
the  discoveries  of  to-morrow.  In  spite  of  all  difficulties, 
both  textual  and  grammatical,  sufficient  is  now  known 
of  the  Egyptian  religion  to  prove,  with  certainty,  that 
the  Egyptians  possessed,  some  six  thousand  years  ago, 
a  religion  and  a  system  of  morality  which,  when 
stripped  of  all  corrupt  accretions,  stand  second  to  none 
among  those  which  have  been  developed  by  the  greatest 
nations  of  the  world. 


E.  A.  WALLIS  BUDGE. 


Londox, 

August  21sf,  1899. 


CONTENTS. 

- *o« - 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  The  Belief  in  God  Almighty  ...  ...  •••  1 

II.  Osiris  the  God  of  the  Resurrection  ...  41 

III.  The  “Gods”  of  the  Egyptians  ...  ...  84 

IV.  The  Judgment  of  the  Dead  ...  ...  HO 

V.  The  Resurrection  and  Immortality  ...  ...  157 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


+o+- 


CHATTER 

I.  The  Creation 

•  ••  •••  •  •  •  ••• 

II.  Isis  suckling  Hokus  in  tiie  Papyrus  Swamp 

III.  The  Soul  of  Osiris  and  the  Soul  of  Ra  meeting 

in  Tattu.  Ra,  in  tiie  Form  of  a  Cat,  cutting 
off  the  Head  of  tiie  Serpent  of  Darkness  ... 

IV.  Tiie  J udgment  of  the  Dead  in  the  Hall  of  Maati 

V.  The  Deceased  being  led  into  the  Presence  of 
Osiris 

VI.  The  Sekiiet-Aaru  or  “  Elysian  Fields  ” _ 

(1)  From  the  Papyrus  of  Nebseni 

(2)  From  the  Papyrus  of  Ani 

(3)  From  the  Papyrus  of  Anhai 


PACK 

25 

57 

63 

137 

147 

177 

181 

187 


EGYPTIAN  IDEAS  OF  THE 
FUTURE  LIFE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  BELIEF  IN  GOD  ALMIGHTY. 

A  study  of  ancient  Egyptian  religious  texts  will  con¬ 
vince  the  reader  that  the  Egyptians  believed  in  One 
God,  who  was  self-existent,  immortal,  invisible,  eternal, 
omniscient,  almighty,  and  inscrutable ;  the  maker  of 
the  heavens,  earth,  and  underworld ;  the  creator  of  the 
sky  and  the  sea,  men  and  women,  animals  and  birds, 
fish  and  creeping  things,  trees  and  plants,  and  the 
incorporeal  beings  who  were  the  messengers  that  ful¬ 
filled  his  wish  and  word.  It  is  necessary  to  place  this 
definition  of  the  first  part  of  the  belief  of  the  Egyptian 
at  the  beginning  of  the  first  chapter  of  this  brief 
account  of  the  principal  religious  ideas  which  he  held, 
for  the  whole  of  his  theology  and  religion  was  based 
upon  it ;  and  it  is  also  necessary  to  add  that,  however 


2  ORIGIN  OF  THE  EGYPTIAN  RELIGION  UNKNOWN. 

far  back  we  follow  bis  literature,  we  never  seem  to 
J  approach  a  time  when  lie  was  without  this  remarkable 
belief.  It  is  true  that  he  also  developed  polytheistic 
ideas  and  beliefs,  and  that  he  cultivated  them  at  certain 
periods  of  his  history  with  diligence,  and  to  such  a 
degree  that  the  nations  around,  and  even  the  stranger 
in  his  country,  were  misled  by  his  actions,  and  de¬ 
scribed  him  as  a  polytheistic  idolater.  But  notwith¬ 
standing  all  such  departures  from  observances,  the 
keeping  of  which  befitted  those  who  believed  in  God 
and  his  unity,  this  sublime  idea  was  never  lost  sight 
of;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  reproduced  in  the  religious 
literature  of  all  periods.  Whence  came  this  remark¬ 
able  characteristic  of  the  Egyptian  religion  no  man 
can  say,  and  there  is  no  evidence  whatsoever  to  guide 
us  in  formulating  the  theory  that  it  was  brought  into 
Egypt  by  immigrants  from  the  East,  as  some  have 
said,  or  that  it  was  a  natural  product  of  the  indigenous 
peoples  who  formed  the  population  of  the  valley  of 
the  Nile  some  ten  thousand  years  ago,  according  to 
the  opinion  of  others.  All  that  is  known  is  that  it 
existed  there  at  a  period  so  remote  that  it  is  useless 
to  attempt  to  measure  by  years  the  interval  of  time 
which  has  elapsed  since  it  grew  up  and  established 
itself  in  the  minds  of  men,  and  that  it  is  exceedingly 
doubtful  if  we  shall  ever  have  any  very  definite  know¬ 
ledge  on  this  interesting  point. 

But  though  we  know  nothing  about  the  period  of 


TIIE  WORD  NETER. 


3 


the  origin  in  Egypt  of  the  belief  in  the  existence  of  an 
almighty  God  who  was  One,  the  inscriptions  show  ns 
that  this  Being  was  called  by  a  name  which  was  some¬ 
thing  like  Neter,1  the  picture  sign  for  which  was  an 
axe-head,  made  probably  of  stone,  let  into  a  long 
wooden  handle.  The  coloured  picture  character  shews 
that  the  axe-head  was  fastened  into  the  handle  by 
thongs  of  leather  or  string,  and  judging  by  the  general 
look  of  the  object  it  must  have  been  a  formidable 
weapon  in  strong,  skilled  hands.  A  theory  has  recently 
been  put  forward  to  the  effect  that  the  picture  character 
represents  a  stick  with  a  bit  of  coloured  rag  tied  to 
the  top,  but  it  will  hardly  commend  itself  to  any 
archaeologist.  The  lines  which  cross  the  side  of  the 
axe-head  represent  string  or  strips  of  leather,  and 
indicate  that  it  was  made  of  stone  which,  being  brittle, 
was  liable  to  crack  ;  the  picture  characters  which 
delineate  the  object  in  the  latter  dynasties  shew  that 
metal  took  the  place  of  the  stone  axe-head,  and 
being  tough  the  new  substance  needed  no  support. 
The  mightiest  man  in  the  prehistoric  days  was  he 
who  had  the  best  weapon,  and  knew  how  to  wield  it 
with  the  greatest  effect ;  when  the  prehistoric  hero  of 
many  fights  and  victories  passed  to  his  rest,  his  own 
or  a  similar  weapon  was  buried  with  him  to  enable 
him  to  wage  war  successfully  in  the  next  world.  The 

1  There  is  no  e  in  Egyptian,  and  this  vowel  is  added  merely  to 
make  the  word  pronounceable. 


4  DERIVATION  FROM  COPTIC  IMPOSSIBLE. 

mightiest  man  had  the  largest  axe,  and  the  axe  thus 
became  the  symbol  of  the  mightiest  man.  As  he,  by 
reason  of  the  oft-told  narrative  of  his  doughty  deeds 
at  the  prehistoric  camp  fire  at  eventide,  in  course  of 
time  passed  from  the  rank  of  a  hero  to  that  of  a  god, 
the  axe  likewise  passed  from  being  the  symbol  of  a 
hero  to  that  of  a  god.  Far  away  back  in  the  early 
dawn  of  civilization  in  Egypt,  the  object  which  I 
identify  as  an  axe  may  have  had  some  other  significa¬ 
tion,  but  if  it  had,  it  w^as  lost  long  before  the  period 
of  the  rule  of  the  dynasties  in  that  country. 

Passing  now  to  the  consideration  of  the  meaning  of 
the  name  for  God,  neter,  we  find  that  great  diversity 
of  opinion  exists  among  Egyptologists  on  the  subject. 
Some,  taking  the  view  that  the  equivalent  of  the  word 
exists  in  Coptic,  under  the  form  of  Nuti,  and  because 
Coptic  is  an  ancient  Egyptian  dialect,  have  sought  to 
deduce  its  meaning  by  seeking  in  that  language  for  the 
root  from  which  the  word  may  be  derived.  But  all 
such  attempts  have  had  no  good  result,  because  the 
word  Nuti  stands  by  itself,  and  instead  of  being  de¬ 
rived  from  a  Coptic  root  is  itself  the  equivalent  of  the 
Egyptian  neter /  and  wras  taken  over  by  the  translators 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures  from  that  language  to  express 
the  words  “  Cod  ”  and  “  Lord.”  The  Coptic  root  nomti 
cannot  in  any  way  be  connected  with  nuti,  and  the 
attempt  to  prove  that  the  two  are  related  was  only 

1  The  letter  r  has  dropped  out  in  Coptic  through  phonetic  decay. 


THE  MEANING  OF  NETER. 


5 


made  with  the  view  of  helping  to  explain  the  funda¬ 
mentals  of  the  Egyptian  religion  by  means  of  Sanskrit 
and  other  Aryan  analogies.  It  is  quite  possible  that 
the  word  neter  means  “  strength/’  “  power/’  and  the 
like,  but  these  are  only  some  of  its  derived  meanings, 
and  we  have  to  look  in  the  hieroglyphic  inscriptions 
for  help  in  order  to  determine  its  most  probable  mean¬ 
ing.  The  eminent  French  Egyptologist,  E.  de  Kouge,  - 
connected  the  name  of  God,  neter,  with  the  other  word 
neter,  “ renewal”  or  “renovation,”  and  it  would,  accord¬ 
ing  to  his  view,  seem  as  if  the  fundamental  idea  of 
God  was  that  of  the  Being  who  had  the  power  to  renew 
himself  perpetually — or  in  other  words,  “  self-existence.” 
The  late  Dr.  H.  Brugsch  partly  accepted  this  view,  for 
he  defined  neter  as  being  “the  active  power  which 
produces  and  creates  things  in  regular  recurrence ; 
which  bestows  new  life  upon  them,  and  gives  back  to 
them  their  youthful  vigour.”1  There  seems  to  be  no 
doubt  that,  inasmuch  as  it  is  impossible  to  find  any 
one  word  which  will  render  neter  adequately  and 
satisfactorily,  “  self- existence  ”  and  “  possessing  the 
powrer  to  renew  life  indefinitely,”  may  together  be 
taken  as  the  equivalent  of  neter  in  our  own  tongue. 
M.  Maspero  combats  rightly  the  attempt  to  make 
“  strong  ”  the  meaning  of  neter  (masc.),  or  neterit  (fern.) 
in  these  words :  “  In  the  expressions  ‘  a  town  neterit 
*  an  arm  neteri /  ...  is  it  certain  that  *  a  strong  city/ 

1  Religion  und  Mythologie ,  p.  93. 


o 


THE  MEANING  OF  NETER. 


‘  a  strong  arm/  give  us  the  primitive  sense  of  neter  ? 
When  among  ourselves  one  says  ‘  divine  music/  ‘  a 
piece  of  divine  poetry/  ‘  the  divine  taste  of  a  peach/ 

*  the  divine  beauty  of  a  woman/  [the  word]  divine  is  a 
hyperbole,  but  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  declare  that  it 
originally  meant  ‘  exquisite 5  because  in  the  phrases 
which  I  have  imagined  one  could  apply  it  as  ‘  exquisite 
music/  ‘a  piece  of  exquisite  poetry;  ‘the  exquisite 
taste  of  a  peach/  ‘the  exquisite  beauty  of  a  woman/ 
Similarly,  in  Egyptian,  ‘a  town  neterit ’  is  ‘a  divine 
town  ;  ’  ‘  an  arm  neteri  ’  is  ‘  a  divine  arm/  and  neteri  is 
employed  metaphorically  in  Egyptian  as  is  [the  word] 
‘  divine  ’  in  French,  without  its  being  any  more  neces¬ 
sary  to  attribute  to  [the  word]  neteri  the  primitive 
meaning  of  ‘  strong/  than  it  is  to  attribute  to  [the 
word]  ‘  divine  5  the  primitive  meaning  of  ‘  exquisite/  ”  1 
It  may  be,  of  course,  that  neter  had  another  meaning 
which  is  now  lost,  but  it  seems  that  the  great  difference 
between  God  and  his  messengers  and  created  things  is 
that  he  is  the  Being  who  is  self- existent  and  immortal, 
whilst  they  are  not  self-existent  and  are  mortal. 

Here  it  will  be  objected  by  those  who  declare  that 
the  ancient  Egyptian  idea  of  God  is  on  a  level  with 
that  evolved  by  peoples  and  tribes  who  stand  com¬ 
paratively  little  removed  from  very  intelligent  animals, 
that  such  high  conceptions  as  self-existence  and  im¬ 
mortality  belong  to  a  people  who  are  already  on  a 
1  La  Mythologie  ftgyptienne,  p.  215. 


PRIMITIVE  IDEA  OF  GOD. 


7 


high  grade  of  development  and  civilization.  This  is 
precisely  the  case  with  the  Egyptians  when  we  first 
know  them.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  we  know  nothing 
of  their  ideas  of  God  before  they  developed  sufficiently 
to  build  the  monuments  which  we  know  they  built, 
and  before  they  possessed  the  religion,  and  civilization, 
and  complex  social  system  which  their  writings  have 
revealed  to  us.  In  the  remotest  prehistoric  times  it 
is  probable  that  their  views  about  God  and  the  future 
life  were  little  better  than  those  of  the  savage  tribes, 
now  living,  with  whom  some  have  compared  them. 
The  primitive  god  was  an  essential  feature  of  the 
family,  and  the  fortunes  of  the  god  varied  with  the 
fortunes  of  the  family ;  the  god  of  the  city  in  which 
a  man  lived  was  regarded  as  the  ruler  of  the  city,  and 
the  people  of  that  city  no  more  thought  of  neglecting 
to  provide  him  with  what  they  considered  to  be  due 
to  his  rank  and  position  than  they  thought  of  neglecting 
to  supply  their  own  wants.  In  fact  the  god  of  the 
city  became  the  centre  of  the  social  fabric  of  that  city, 
and  every  inhabitant  thereof  inherited  automatically 
certain  duties,  the  neglect  of  which  brought  stated 
pains  and  penalties  upon  him.  The  remarkable 
peculiarity  of  the  Egyptian  religion  is  that  the 
primitive  idea  of  the  god  of  the  city  is  always  cropping 
up  in  it,  and  that  is  the  reason  why  we  find  semi¬ 
savage  ideas  of  God  side  by  side  with  some  of  the 
most  sublime  conceptions,  and  it  of  course  underlies 


8 


EXAMPLES  OF  THE  USE  OF  NETER. 


all  the  legends  of  the  gods  wherein  they  possess  all 
the  attributes  of  men  and  women.  The  Egyptian  in 
his  semi-savage  state  was  neither  better  nor  worse 
than  any  other  man  in  the  same  stage  of  civilization, 
but  he  stands  easily  first  among  the  nations  in  his 
capacity  for  development,  and  in  his  ability  for  evolving 
conceptions  concerning  God  and  the  future  life,  which 
are  claimed  as  the  peculiar  product  of  the  cultured 
nations  of  our  time. 

We  must  now,  however,  see  how  the  word  for  God, 
neter ,  is  employed  in  religious  texts  and  in  works 
which  contain  moral  precepts.  In  the  text  of  Unas,1 
a  king  who  reigned  about  B.c.  3300,  we  find  the 
passage  : — “  That  which  is  sent  by  thy  ka  cometh  to 
thee,  that  which  is  sent  by  thy  father  cometh  to  thee, 
that  which  is  sent  by  Ka  cometh  to  thee,  and  it 
arriveth  in  the  train  of  thy  Ka.  Thou  art  pure,  thy 
bones  are  the  gods  and  the  goddesses  of  heaven,  thou 
existest  at  the  side  of  God,  thou  art  unfastened,  thou 
comest  forth  towards  thy  soul,  for  every  evil  word 
(or  thing)  which  hath  been  written  in  the  name  of 
Unas  hath  been  done  away.”  And,  again,  in  the  text 
of  Teta,2  in  the  passage  which  refers  to  the  place  in 
the  eastern  part  of  heaven  “  where  the  gods  give  birth 
unto  themselves,  where  that  to  which  they  give  birth 
is  born,  and  where  they  renew  their  youth,”  it  is 
said  of  this  king,  “Teta  standeth  up  in  the  form  of 

1  Ed.  Maspero,  Pyramides  de  Saqqarah,  p.  25.  2  Ibid.,  p.  113. 


EXAMPLES  OF  THE  USE  OF  NETER.  9 

the  star  ...  he  weigheth  words  (or  trieth  deeds),  and 
behold  God  hearkeneth  unto  that  which  he  saith.” 
Elsewhere 1  in  the  same  text  we  read,  “  Behold,  Teta 
hath  arrived  in  the  height  of  heaven,  and  the  henmemet 
beino-s  have  seen  him  :  the  Semketet 2  boat  knoweth 
him,  and  it  is  Teta  who  saileth  it,  and  the  Mantchet 3 
boat  calleth  unto  him,  and  it  is  Teta  who  bringetli 
it  to  a  standstill.  Teta  hath  seen  his  body  in  the 
Semketet  boat,  he  knoweth  the  uraeus  which  is  in  the 
Mantchet  boat,  and  God  hath  called  him  in  his  name 
.  .  .  and  hath  taken  him  in  to  Ba.”  And  again 4  we 
have ;  “  Thou  hast  received  the  form  (or  attribute)  of 
God,  and  thou  hast  become  great  therewith  before  the 
gods”;  and  of  Pepi  I.,  who  reigned  about  B.c.  3000, 
it  is  said,  “  This  Pepi  is  God,  the  son  of  God.”  5 

Now  in  these  passages  the  allusion  is  to  the  supreme  > 
Being  in  the  next  world,  the  Being  who  has  the 
power  to  invoke  and  to  obtain  a  favourable  reception 
for  the  deceased  king  by  Ka,  the  Sun-god,  the  type 
and  symbol  of  God.  It  may,  of  course,  be  urged  that 
the  word  neter  here  refers  to  Osiris,  but  it  is  not 
customary  to  speak  of  this  god  in  such  a  way  in  the 
texts ;  and  even  if  we  admit  that  it  does,  it  only  shows 
that  the  powers  of  God  have  been  attributed  to  Osiris, 
and  that  he  was  believed  to  occupy  the  position  in 

1  Ed.  Maspero,  Pyr amides  de  Saqqarali,  p.  111. 

2  The  morning  boat  of  the  sun.  3  The  evening  boat  of  the  sun. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  150.  5  Mid.,  p.  222. 


10 


PRECEPTS  OF  KAQEMNA. 


lespect  of  Pa  and  the  deceased  which  the  supreme 
Being  himself  occupied.  In  the  last  two  extracts 
given  above  we  might  read  “a  god  ”  instead  of  “  God,” 
hut  there  is  no  object  in  the  king  receiving  the  form 
or  attribute  of  a  nameless  god ;  and  unless  Pepi  becomes 
the  son  of  God,  the  honour  which  the  writer  of  that 
text  intends  to  ascribe  to  the  king  becomes  little  and 
even  ridiculous. 

Passing  from  religious  texts  to  works  containing 
moral  precepts,  we  find  much  light  thrown  upon  the 
idea  of  God  by  the  writings  of  the  early  sages  of 
Egypt.  First  and  foremost  among  these  are  the 
“  Precepts  of  Kaqemna”  and  the  “  Precepts  of  Ptah- 
hetep,”  works  which  were  composed  as  far  back  as 
B.c.  3000.  The  oldest  copy  of  them  which  we  possess 
is,  unfortunately,  not  older  than  B.c.  2500,  but  this 
fact  in  no  way  affects  our  argument.  These  “precepts  ” 
are  intended  to  form  a  work  of  direction  and  guidance 
for  a  young  man  in  the  performance  of  his  duty 
towards  the  society  in  which  he  lived  and  towards 
his  God.  It  is  only  fair  to  say  that  the  reader  will 
look  in  vain  in  them  for  the  advice  which  is  found 
in  writings  of  a  similar  character  composed  at  a  later 
period;  but  as  a  work  intended  to  demonstrate  the 
“  whole  duty  of  man  ”  to  the  youth  of  the  time  when 
the  Great  Pyramid  was  still  a  new  building,  these 
“precepts  ”  are  very  remarkable.  The  idea  of  God  held 
by  Ptah-hetep  is  illustrated  by  the  following  passages  : — 


IDEA  OF  GOD  IN  DYNASTIC  TIMES.  II 

1.  “  Thou  shalt  make  neither  man  nor  woman  to  be 
afraid,  for  God  is  opposed  thereto;  and  if  any  man 
shall  say  that  lie  will  live  thereby,  He  will  make  him 
to  want  bread.” 

2.  “  As  for  the  nobleman  who  possesseth  abundance 
of  goods,  he  may  act  according  to  his  own  dictates; 
and  he  may  do  with  himself  that  which  he  pleaseth ; 
if  he  will  do  nothing  at  all,  that  also  is  as  he  pleaseth. 
The  nobleman  by  merely  stretching  out  his  hand  doeth 
that  which  mankind  (or  a  person)  cannot  attain  to ; 
but  inasmuch  as  the  eating  of  bread  is  according  to 
the  plan  of  God,  this  cannot  be  gainsaid.” 

3.  “  If  thou  hast  ground  to  till,  labour  in  the  field 
which  God  hath  given  thee ;  rather  than  fill  thy  mouth 
with  that  which  belongeth  to  thy  neighbours  it  is 
better  to  terrify  him  that  hath  possessions  [to  give 
them  unto  thee].” 

4.  “  If  thou  abasest  thyself  in  the  service  of  a  perfect 
man,  thy  conduct  shall  be  fair  before  God.” 

5.  “  If  thou  wouldst  be  a  wise  man,  make  thou  thy 
son  to  be  pleasing  unto  God.” 

6.  “  Satisfy  those  who  depend  upon  thee  as  far  as 
thou  art  able  so  to  do ;  this  should  be  done  by  those 
whom  God  hath  favoured.” 

7.  “  If,  having  been  of  no  account,  thou  hast  become 
great ;  and  if,  having  been  poor,  thou  hast  become  rich ; 
and  if  thou  hast  become  governor  of  the  city,  be  not 
hard-hearted  on  account  of  thy  advancement,  because 


12 


MAXIMS  OF  ICHENSU-HETEP. 


thou  hast  become  merely  the  guardian  of  the  things 
which  God  hath  provided.” 

8  11  What  is  loved  of  God  is  obedience  ;  God  hateth 
disobedience.” 

9.  “  Yerily  a  good  son  is  of  the  gifts  of  God.”  1 

The  same  idea  of  God,  but  considerably  amplified 
in  some  respects,  may  be  found  in  the  Maxims  of 
Khensu-hetep,  a  work  which  was  probably  composed 
during  the  XVIIIth  dynasty.  This  work  has  been 
studied  in  detail  by  a  number  of  eminent  Egyptologists, 
and  though  considerable  difference  of  opinion  has 
existed  among  them  m  respect  of  details  and  gram¬ 
matical  niceties,  the  general  sense  of  the  maxims  has 
been  clearly  established.  To  illustrate  the  use  of  the 
word  neter ,  the  following  passages  have  been  chosen 
from  it : 2 — 

1.  “  God  magnifieth  his  name.” 

2.  “  What  the  house  of  God  hateth  is  much  speaking. 
Pray  thou  with  a  loving  heart  all  the  petitions  which 
are  in  secret.  He  will  perform  thy  business,  he  will 
hear  that  which  thou  sayest  and  will  accept  thine 
offerings.” 

3.  “  God  decreeth  the  right.” 

f  Tlie  text  was  published  by  Prisse  d’Avennes,  entitled  Facsimile 
d'un  papyrus  Egyptien  en  caracteres  hiCratiques,  Paris,  1847.  For  a 
tianslation  of  the  whole  work,  see  Virey,  Etudes  sur  le  Papyrus  Prisse 
Paris,  1887. 

2  They  are  given  with  interlinear  transliteration  and  translation 
m  my  Papyrus  of  Ani,  p.  Ixxxv.  ff.,  where  references  to  the  older 
literature  on  the  subject  will  be  found. 


GOD  AND  “GODS.” 


13 


4.  “  When  thou  makest  an  offering  unto  thy  God, 
guard  thou  against  the  things  which  are  an  abomination 
unto  him.  Behold  thou  his  plans  with  thine  eye,  and 
devote  thyself  to  the  adoration  of  his  name.  He  giveth 
souls  unto  millions  of  forms,  and  him  that  magnifieth 
him  doth  he  magnify.” 

5.  “If  thy  mother  raise  her  hands  to  God  he  will 
hear  her  prayers  [and  rebuke  thee].” 

7.  “  Give  thyself  to  God,  and  keep  thou  thyself  daily 
for  God.” 

Now,  although  the  above  passages  prove  the  exalted 
idea  which  the  Egyptians  held  of  the  supreme  Being, 
they  do  not  supply  us  with  any  of  the  titles  and 
epithets  which  they  applied  to  him ;  for  these  we  must 
have  recourse  to  the  fine  hymns  and  religious  medita¬ 
tions  which  form  so  important  a  part  of  the  “  Book  of 
the  Dead.”  But  before  we  quote  from  them,  mention 
must  be  made  of  the  neteru ,  i.e.,  the  beings  or  exist¬ 
ences  which  in  some  way  partake  of  the  nature  or 
character  of  God,  and  are  usually  called  “  gods.”  The 
early  nations  that  came  in  contact  with  the  Egyptians 
usually  misunderstood  the  nature  of  these  beings,  and 
several  modern  Western  writers  have  done  the  same. 
When  we  examine  these  “  gods  ”  closely,  they  are  found 
to  be  nothing  more  nor  less  than  forms,  or  manifesta¬ 
tions,  or  phases,  or  attributes,  of  one  god,  that  god 
being  Ba  the  Sun-god,  who,  it  must  be  remembered^ 
kvas  the  type  and  symbol  of  God.  Nevertheless,  the 


14 


MONOTHEISM  AND  POLYTHEISM. 


worship  of  the  netcru  by  the  Egyptians  has  been  made 
the  base  of  the  charge  of  “  gross  idolatry  ”  which  has 
been  brought  against  them,  and  they  have  been  repre¬ 
sented  by  some  as  being  on  the  low  intellectual  level 
of  savage  tribes.  It  is  certain  that  from  the  earliest 
times  one  of  the  greatest  tendencies  of  the  Egyptian 
religion  was  towards  monotheism,  and  this  tendency 
may  be  observed  in  all  important  texts  down  to  the 
latest  period  ;  it  is  also  certain  that  a  kind  of  poly¬ 
theism  existed  in  Egypt  side  by  side  with  monotheism 
from  very  early  times.  Whether  monotheism  or  poly¬ 
theism  be  the  older,  it  is  useless  in  our  present 
state  of  knowledge  to  attempt  to  enquire.  According 
to  Tiele,  the  religion  of  Egypt  was  at  the  beginning 
polytheistic,  but  developed  in  two  opposite  directions : 
in  the  one  direction  gods  were  multiplied  by  the 
addition  of  local  gods,  and  in  the  other  the  Egyptians 
drew  nearer  and  nearer  to  monotheism.1  Dr.  Wiede¬ 
mann  takes  the  view  that  three  main  elements  may  be 
recognized  in  the  Egyptian  religion  :  (1)  A  solar  mono¬ 
theism,  that  is  to  say  one  god,  the  creator  of  the 
universe,  who  manifests  his  power  especially  in  the 
sun  and  its  operations ;  (2)  A  cult  of  the  regenerating 
power  of  nature,  which  expresses  itself  in  the  adoration 
of  ithyphallic  gods,  of  fertile  goddesses,  and  of  a  series 

1  Geschiedenis  van  den  Godsdienst  in  de  Oudheid,  Amsterdam,  1893, 
p.  25.  A  number  of  valuable  remarks  on  this  subject  are  given  by 
Lieblein  in  Egyptian  Religion,  p.  10. 


GOD  AND  THE  GOD  OF  THE  CITY.  1 5 

of  animals  and  of  various  deities  of  vegetation ;  (3)  A 
perception  of  an  anthropomorphic  divinity,  the  life  of 
whom  in  this  world  and  in  the  world  beyond  this  was 
typical  of  the  ideal  life  of  man 1  —this  last  divinity 
being,  of  course,  Osiris.  But  here  again,  as  Dr.  Wiede¬ 
mann  says,  it  is  an  unfortunate  fact  that  all  the  texts 
which  we  possess  are,  in  respect  of  the  period  of  the 
origin  of  the  Egyptian  religion,  comparatively  late,  and 
therefore  in  them  we  find  these  three  elements  mixed 
together,  along  with  a  number  of  foreign  matters,  in 
such  a  way  as  to  make  it  impossible  to  discover  which 
of  them  is  the  oldest.  No  better  example  can  be  given 
of  the  loose  way  in  which  different  ideas  about  a  god 
and  God  are  mingled  in  the  same  text  than  the 
“Negative  Confession ”  in  the  hundred  and  twenty-fifth 
chapter  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead.  Here,  in  the  oldest 
copies  of  the  passages  known,  the  deceased  says,  “  I  have 
not  cursed  God  ”  (1.  38),  and  a  few  lines  after  (1.  42)  he 
adds,  “  I  have  not  thought  scorn  of  the  god  living  in 
my  city.”  It  seems  that  here  we  have  indicated  two 
different  layers  of  belief,  and  that  the  older  is  repre¬ 
sented  by  the  allusion  to  the  “god  of  the  city,”  in 
which  case  it  would  go  back  to  the  time  when  the 
Egyptian  lived  in  a  very  primitive  fashion.  If  we 
assume  that  God  (who  is  mentioned  in  line  38)  is 
Osiris,  it  does  not  do  away  with  the  fact  that  he  was 
regarded  as  a  being  entirely  different  from  the  “god  of 
1  Le  Livre  des  Morts  (Review  in  Mus&on,  Tom.  xiii.  1893). 


1 6  JUVENAL  ON  THE  EGYPTIAN  GODS. 

the  city  ”  and  that  he  was  of  sufficient  importance  to 
have  one  line  of  the  “  Confession  devoted  to  him. 
The  Egyptian  saw  no  incongruity  in  setting  references 
to  the  “gods”  side  by  side  with  allusions  to  a  god 
whom  we  cannot  help  identifying  with  the  Supreme 
Being  and  the  Creator  of  the  world;  his  ideas  and 
beliefs  have,  in  consequence,  been  sadly  misrepresented, 
and  by  certain  writers  he  has  been  made  an  object  ot 
ridicule.  What,  for  example,  could  be  a  more  foolish 
description  of  Egyptian  worship  than  the  following? 
“Who  knows  not,  0  Yolusius  of  Bithynia,  the  sort  of 
monsters  Egypt,  in  her  infatuation,  worships.  One 
part  venerates  the  crocodile;  another  trembles  before 
an  ibis  gorged  with  serpents.  The  image  of  a  sacred 
monkey  glitters  in  gold,  where  the  magic  chords  sound 
from  Memnon  broken  in  half,  and  ancient  Thebes  lies 
buried  in  ruins,  with  her  hundred  gates.  In  one  place 
they  venerate  sea-fish,  in  another  river-fish;  there, 
whole  towns  worship  a  dog :  no  one  Diana.  It  is  an 
impious  act  to  violate  or  break  with  the  teeth  a  leek 
or  an  onion.  0  holy  nations !  whose  gods  grow  for 
them  in  their  gardens!  Every  table  abstains  from 
animals  that  have  wool :  it  is  a  crime  there  to  kill  a 
kid.  But  human  flesh  is  lawful  food.”  1 

1  Juvenal,  Satire  XV.  (Evans’  translation  in  Bolin’s  Series,  p.  180). 
Led  astray  by  Juvenal,  our  own  good  George  Herbert  ( Church 
Militant )  wrote  : — 

“  At  first  he  ( i.e .,  Sin)  got  to  Egypt,  and  did  sow 
Gardens  of  gods,  which  every  year  did  grow 


HYMN  TO  THE  NILE-GOD. 


J7 

The  epithets  which  the  Egyptians  applied  to  their 
gods  also  bear  valuable  testimony  concerning  the  ideas 
which  they  held  about  God.  We  have  already  said 
that  the  “  gods  are  only  forms,  manifestations,  and 
phases  of  Ba,  the  Sun-god,  who  was  himself  the  type 
and  symbol  of  God,  and  it  is  evident  from  the  nature 
of  these  epithets  that  they  were  only  applied  to  the 
“gods”  because  they  represented  some  quality  or 
attribute  which  they  would  have  applied  to  God  had 
it  been  their  custom  to  address  Him.  Let  us  take  as 
examples  the  epithets  which  are  applied  to  Hapi  the 
god  of  the  Nile.  The  beautiful  hymn1  to  this  god 
opens  as  follows  : — 

“  Homage  to  thee,  0  Hapi !  Thou  comest  forth  in 
this  land,  and  dost  come  in  peace  to  make  Egypt  to 
live,  0  thou  hidden  one,  thou  guide  of  the  darkness 
whensoever  it  is  thy  pleasure  to  be  its  guide.  Thou 
waterest  the  fields  which  Ba  hath  created,  thou  makest 
all  animals  to  live,  thou  makest  the  land  to  drink 

Fresh  and  fine  deities.  They  were  at  great  cost, 

Who  for  a  god  clearly  a  sallet  lost. 

Ah,  what  a  thing  is  man  devoid  of  grace, 

Adoring  garlic  with  an  humble  face, 

Begging  his  food  of  that  which  he  may  eat, 

Starving  the  while  he  worshippeth  his  meat ! 

Who  makes  a  root  his  god,  how  low  is  he, 

If  God  and  man  be  severed  infinitely ! 

What  wretchedness  can  give  him  any  room, 

\Y  hose  house  is  foul,  while  he  adores  his  broom  ? 

1  The  whole  hymn  has  been  published  by  Maspero  in  Hymne  au 
Nil ,  Paris,  1868. 


C 


l8  HAPI  AS  PTAH  AND  KHNEMU. 

without  ceasing;  thou  descendest  the  path  of  heaven, 
thou  art  the  friend  of  meat  and  drink,  thou  art  the 
giver  of  the  grain,  and  thou  makest  every  place  of 
work  to  flourish,  0  Ptah  !  .  .  .  If  thou  wert  to  he 
overcome  in  heaven  the  gods  would  fall  down  head¬ 
long,  and  mankind  would  perish.  Thou  makest  the 
whole  earth  to  be  opened  (or  ploughed  up)  by  the 
cattle,  and  prince  and  peasant  lie  down  to  rest.  .  .  . 
His  disposition  (or  form)  is  that  of  Khnemu ;  when 
he  shineth  upon  the  earth  there  is  rejoicing,  for  all 
people  are  glad,  the  mighty  man  (?)  receiveth  his  meat, 
and  every  tooth  hath  food  to  consume.” 

After  praising  him  for  what  he  does  for  mankind 
and  beasts,  and  for  making  the  herb  to  grow  for  the 
use  of  all  men,  the  text  says : — 

“  He  cannot  be  figured  in  stone ;  he  is  not  to  be  seen 
in  the  sculptured  images  upon  which  men  place  the 
united  crowns  of  the  South  and  the  North  furnished 
with  uraei;  neither  works  nor  offerings  can  be  made 
to  him ;  and  he  cannot  be  made  to  come  forth 
from  his  secret  place.  The  place  where  he  liveth  is 
unknown ;  he  is  not  to  be  found  in  inscribed  shrines ; 
there  existeth  no  habitation  which  can  contain  him ; 
and  thou  canst  not  conceive  his  form  in  thy  heart.” 

First  we  notice  that  Hapi  is  addressed  by  the  names 
of  Ptah  and  Khnemu,  not  because  the  writer  thought 
these  three  gods  were  one,  but  because  Hapi  as  the 
great  supplier  of  water  to  Egypt  became,  as  it  were, 


THE  UNITY  OF  GOD. 


19 


a  creative  god  like  Ptah  and  Khnemu.  Next  we  see 
that  it  is  stated  to  be  impossible  to  depict  him  in 
paintings,  or  even  to  imagine  what  his  form  may  be, 
for  he  is  unknown  and  his  abode  cannot  be  found,  and 
no  place  can  contain  him.  But,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
several  pictures  and  sculptures  of  Hapi  have  been  pre¬ 
served,  and  we  know  that  he  is  generally  depicted  in 
the  form  of  two  gods ;  one  has  upon  his  head  a  papyrus 
plant,  and  the  other  a  lotus  plant,  the  former  being  the 
Nile-god  of  the  South,  and  the  latter  the  Nile-god  of 
the  North.  Elsewhere  he  is  portrayed  in  the  form 
of  a  large  man  having  the  breasts  of  a  woman.  It 
is  quite  clear,  then,  that  the  epithets  which  we  have 
quoted  are  applied  to  him  merely  as  a  form  of  God. 
In  another  hymn,  which  was  a  favourite  in  the  XVIIIth 
and  XIXth  dynasties,  Hapi  is  called  “  One,”  and  is  said 
to  have  created  himself;  but  as  he  is  later  on  in  the 
text  identified  with  Ba  the  epithets  which  belong  to 
the  Sun-god  are  applied  to  him.  The  late  Dr.  PI. 
Brugsch  collected1  a  number  of  the  epithets  which 
aie  applied  to  the  gods,  from  texts  of  all  periods; 
and  from  these  we  may  see  that  the  ideas  and  beliefs 
of  the  Egyptians  concerning  God  were  almost  identical 
with  those  of  the  Hebrews  and  Muhammadans  at 
later  periods.  When  classified  these  epithets  read 
thus : — 

“God  is  One  and  alone,  and  none  other  existeth 
1  Religion  ur.d  Mythologie,  pp.  96-99. 


20 


ATTRIBUTES  OF  GOD  DESCRIBED. 


with  Him ;  Clod  is  the  One,  the  One  Who  hath  made 
all  things. 

“  God  is  a  spirit,  a  hidden  spirit,  the  spirit  of  spirits, 
the  great  spirit  of  the  Egyptians,  the  divine  spirit. 

“  God  is  from  the  beginning,  and  He  hath  been  from 
the  beginning  ;  He  hath  existed  Irom  of  old  and  was 
when  nothing  else  had  being.  He  existed  when  nothing 
else  existed,  and  what  existeth  He  created  after  He 
had  come  into  being.  ,  He  is  the  father  of  beginnings. 

«  God  is  the  eternal  One,  He  is  eternal  and  infinite; 
and  endureth  for  ever  and  aye  ;  He  hath  endured  for 
countless  ages,  and  He  shall  endure  to  all  eternity. 

“  God  is  the  hidden  Being,  and  no  man  hath  known 
His  form.  Ho  man  hath  been  able  to  seek  out  His 
likeness;  He  is  hidden  from  gods  and  men,  and  He 
is  a  mystery  unto  His  creatures. 

<(  Ho  man  knoweth  how  to  know  Him.  His  name 
remaineth  hidden ;  His  name  is  a  mystery  unto  His 
children.  His  names  are  innumerable,  they  are  mani¬ 
fold  and  none  knoweth  their  number. 

“  God  is  truth,  and  He  liveth  by  truth,  and  He 
feedeth  thereon.  He  is  the  King  of  truth,  He  resteth 
upon  truth,  He  fashioneth  truth,  and  He  executeth 

truth  throughout  all  the  world. 

“  God  is  life,  and  through  Him  only  man  liveth. 
He  o-iveth  life  to  man,  and  He  breathetli  the  breath 
of  life  into  his  nostrils. 

“God  is  father  and  mother,  the  father  of  fathers, 


GOD  THE  CREATOR  AND  FATHER. 


21 


and  the  mother  of  mothers.  He  begetteth,  but  was 
never  begotten ;  He  produceth,  but  was  never  produced, 
He  begat  Himself  and  produced  Himself.  He  createth, 
but  was  never  created;  He  is  the  maker  of  His  own 
form,  and  the  fashioner  of  His  own  body. 

“  God  Himself  is  existence,  He  liveth  in  all  things, 
and  liveth  upon  all  things.  He  endureth  without  in¬ 
crease  or  diminution,  He  multiplieth  Himself  millions 
of  times,  and  He  possesseth  multitudes  of  forms  and 
multitudes  of  members. 

“  God  hath  made  the  universe,  and  He  hath  created 
all  that  therein  is :  He  is  the  Creator  of  what  is  in  this 
world,  of  what  was,  of  what  is,  and  of  what  shall  be. 
He  is  the  Creator  of  the  world,  and  it  was  He  Who 
fashioned  it  with  His  hands  before  there  was  any 
beginning ;  and  He  stablished  it  with  that  which  went 
forth  from  Him.  He  is  the  Creator  of  the  heavens  and 
the  earth ;  the  Creator  of  the  heavens,  and  the  earth, 
and  the  deep ;  the  Creator  of  the  heavens,  and  the 
earth,  and  the  deep,  and  the  waters,  and  the  mountains. 
God  hath  stretched  out  the  heavens  and  founded  the 
earth.  What  His  heart  conceived  came  to  pass  straight' 
way,  and  when  He  had  spoken  His  word  came  to  pass, 
and  it  shall  endure  for  ever. 

aGod  is  the  father  of  the  gods,  and  the  father  of  the 
father  of  all  deities ;  He  made  His  voice  to  sound,  and 
the  deities  came  into  being,  and  the  gods  sprang  into 
existence  after  He  had  spoken  with  His  mouth.  He 


22 


THE  HIDDEN  GOD  AND  HIS  SYMBOL. 


formed  mankind  and  fashioned  the  gods.  He  is  the 
great  Master,  the  primeval  Potter  Who  turned  men 
and  gods  out  of  His  hands,  and  He  formed  men  and 
gods  upon  a  potter’s  table. 

“  The  heavens  rest  upon  His  head,  and  the  earth 
supporteth  His  feet  \  heaven  liideth  His  spirit,  the 
earth  hideth  His  form,  and  the  underworld  shutteth 
up  the  mystery  of  Him  within  it.  His  body  is  like 
the  air,  heaven  resteth  upon  His  head,  and  the  new 
inundation  [of  the  Nile]  containeth  His  form. 

« God  is  merciful  unto  those  who  reverence  Him, 
and  He  hearetli  him  that  calletli  upon  Him.  He 
protecteth  the  weak  against  the  stiong,  and  He  hearetli 
the  cry  of  him  that  is  bound  in  fetters ;  He  judgeth 
between  the  mighty  and  the  weak.  God  knoweth  him 
that  knoweth  Him,  He  rewardeth  him  that  serveth 
Him,  and  He  protecteth  him  that  followeth  Him.” 

We  have  now  to  consider  the  visible  emblem,  and 
the  type  and  symbol  of  God,  namely  the  Sun-god  Ra, 
who  was  worshipped  in  Egypt  in  prehistoric  times. 

>  According  to  the  writings  of  the  Egyptians,  there  was 
a  time  when  neither  heaven  nor  earth  existed,  and 
when  nothing  had  being  except  the  boundless  primeval 1 
water,  which  was,  however,  shrouded  with  thick  dark¬ 
ness.  In  this  condition  the  primeval  water  remained  for 
a  considerable  time,  notwithstanding  that  it  contained 
within  it  the  germs  of  the  things  which  afterwards 

1  See  Brugsch,  Religion,  p.  101. 


THE  CREATION. 


23 


came  into  existence  in  this  world,  and  the  world 
itself.  At  length  the  spirit  of  the  primeval  water  felt 
the  desire  for  creative  activity,  and  having  uttered 
the  word,  the  world  sprang  straightway  into  being  in 
the  form  which  had  already  been  depicted  in  the  mind 
of  the  spirit  before  he  spake  the  word  which  resulted 
in  its  creation.  The  next  act  of  creation  was  the  form¬ 
ation  of  a  germ,  or  egg,  from  which  sprang  Ba,  the 
Sun-god,  within  whose  shining  form  was  embodied  the 
almighty  power  of  the  divine  spirit.  < 

Such  was  the  outline  of  creation  as  described  by  the 
late  Dr.  H.  Brugscli,  and  it  is  curious  to  see  how 
closely  his  views  coincide  with  a  chapter  in  the 
Papyrus  of  Nesi  Amsu  preserved  in  the  British 
Museum.1  In  the  third  section  of  this  papyrus  we 
find  a  work  which  was  written  with  the  sole  object  of 
overthrowing  Apep,  the  great  enemy  of  Ba,  and  in 
the  composition  itself  we  find  two  versions  of  the 
chapter  which  describes  the  creation  of  the  earth  and 
all  things  therein.  The  god  Neb-er-tcher  is  the 
speaker,  and  he  says  : — 

“  I  evolved  the  evolving  of  evolutions.  I  evolved 
myself  under  the  form  of  the  evolutions  of  the  god 
Khepera,  which  were  evolved  at  the  beginning  of  all 
time.  I  evolved  with  the  evolutions  of  the  god 
Khepera;  I  evolved  by  the  evolution  of  evolutions — 

1  No.  10,188.  See  my  transcript  and  translation  of  the  whole 
papyrus  in  Arcliseologia ,  vol.  52,  London,  1891. 


24 


THE  PRIMEVAL  TRINITY. 


that  is  to  say,  I  developed  myself  from  the  primeval 
matter  which  I  made,  I  developed  myself  out  of  the 
primeval  matter.  My  name  is  Ausares  (Osiris),  the 
germ  of  primeval  matter.  I  have  wrought  my  will 
wholly  in  this  earth,  I  have  spread  abroad  and  filled 
it,  I  have  strengthened  it  [with]  my  hand.  I  was 
alone,  for  nothing  had  been  brought  forth ;  I  had  not 
then  emitted  from  myself  either  Shu  or  Tefnufc.  I 
uttered  my  own  name,  as  a  word  of  power,  from  my 
own  mouth,  and  I  straightway  evolved  myself.  I 
evolved  myself  under  the  form  of  the  evolutions  of 
the  god  Khepera,  and  I  developed  myself  out  of  the 
primeval  matter  which  has  evolved  multitudes  of 
evolutions  from  the  beginning  of  time.  Nothing  ex¬ 
isted  on  this  earth  then,  and  I  made  all  things.  There 
was  none  other  who  worked  with  me  at  that  time. 
I  performed  all  evolutions  there  by  means  of  that 
divine  Soul  which  I  fashioned  there,  and  which  had 
remained  inoperative  in  the  watery  abyss.  I  found 
no  place  there  whereon  to  stand.  But  I  was  strong 
in  my  heart,  and  I  made  a  foundation  for  myself,  and 
I  made  everything  which  was  made.  I  was  alone.  I 
made  a  foundation  for  my  heart  ( or  will),  and  I  created 
multitudes  of  things  which  evolved  themselves  like 
unto  the  evolutions  of  the  god  Khepera,  and  their 
offspring  came  into  being  from  the  evolutions  of  their 
births.  I  emitted  from  myself  the  gods  Shu  and 
Tefnut,  and  from  being  One  I  became  Three;  they 


THE  CREATION. 

The  god  Nu  rising  out  of  the  primeval  water  and  bearing  in  his  hands  the  boat  of  Ra, 
the  Sun-god,  who  is  accompanied  by  a  number  of  deities.  In  the  upper  portion  of  the 
scene  is  the  region  of  the  underworld  which  is  enclosed  by  the  body  of  Osiris,  on  whose 
head  stands  the  goddess  Nut  with  arms  stretched  out  to  receive  the  disk  of  the  sun. 


BIRTH  OF  GODS  OF  THE  OSIRIS  CYCLE.  27 


sprang  from  me,  and  came  into  existence  in  this  earth. 

.  .  .  Shu  and  Tefnut  brought  forth  Seb  and  'Nut,  and 
Nut  brought  forth  Osiris,  Horus-khent-an-maa,  Sut, 
Isis,  and  Nephtliys  at  one  birth.” 

The  fact  of  the  existence  of  two  versions  of  this 
remarkable  Chapter  proves  that  the  composition  is 
much  older  than  the  papyrus1  in  which  it  is  found, 
and  the  variant  readings  which  occur  in  each  make 
it  certain  that  the  Egyptian  scribes  had  difficulty  in 
understanding  what  they  were  writing.  It  may  be 
said  that  this  version  of  the  cosmogony  is  incomplete, 
because  it  does  not  account  for  the  origin  of  any  of 
the  gods  except  those  who  belong  to  the  cycle  of  Osiris, 
and  this  objection  is  a  valid  one ;  but  in  this  place  we 
are  only  concerned  to  shew  that  Ba,  the  Sun-god,  was 
evolved  from  the  primeval  abyss  of  water  by  the  agency 
of  the  god  Khepera,  who  brought  this  result  about  by 
pronouncing  his  own  name.  The  great  cosmic  gods, 
such  as  Ptah  and  Khnemu,  of  whom  mention  will  be 
made  later,  are  the  offspring  of  another  set  of  religious 
views,  and  the  cosmogony  in  which  these  play  the 
leading  parts  is  entirely  different.  We  must  notice, 
in  passing,  that  the  god  whose  words  we  have  quoted 
above  declares  that  he  evolved  himself  under  the  form 
of  Khepera,  and  that  his  name  is  Osiris,  “  the  primeval 
matter  of  primeval  matter,”  and  that,  as  a  result,  Osiris 
is  identical  with  Khepera  in  respect  of  his  evolutions 

1  About  b.c.  300. 


\r* 


2  8 


CREATION  OF  MEN  AND  WOMEN. 


and  new  births.  The  word  rendered  “  evolutions  ”  is 
kheperu ,  literally  “  rollings  ”  ;  and  that  rendered  “  pri¬ 
meval  matter”  is  pciut,  the  original  “stuff”  out  of 
which  everything  was  made.  In  both  versions  we 

are  told  that  men  and  women  came  into  being  from 

•  -  -  — -----  ------- — «, 

the  tears  which  fell  from  the  “  Eye  ”  of  Khepera,  that 

-  •  v  w-  r,,,-  ..I..-  1  '  WtPWIW# 

■  <  is  to  say  from  the  Sun,  which,  the  god  says,  “  I  made 
take  to  up  its  place  in  my  face,  and  afterwards  it  ruled 
the  whole  earth.” 

>•  We  have  seen  how  Ea  has  become  the  visible  type 
and  symbol  of  God,  and  the  creator  of  the  world  and 
of  all  that  is  therein ;  we  may  now  consider  the 
position  which  he  held  with  respect  to  the  dead.  As 
far  back  as  the  period  of  the  IYth  dynasty,  about 
B.c.  3700,  .he  was  regarded  as  the  great  god  of  heaven, 
and  the  king  of  all  the  gods,  and  divine  beings,  and 
of  the  beatified  dead  who  dwelt  therein.  The  position 
of  the  beatified  in  heaven  is  decided  by  Ea,  and  of  all 
the  gods  there  Osiris  only  appears  to  have  the  power 
to  claim  protection  for  his  followers ;  the  offerings 
which  the  deceased  would  make  to  Ea  are  actually 
presented  to  him  by  Osiris.  At  one  time  the  Egyptian’s 
greatest  hope  seems  to  have  been  that  he  might  not 
only  become  “  God,  the  son  of  God,”  by  adoption,  but 
that  Ea  would  become  actually  his  father.  <  Eor  in  the 
text  of  Pepi  I.,1  it  is  said :  “  Pepi  is  the  son  of  Ea  who 
loveth  him;  and  he  goeth  forth  and  raiseth  himself 

1  Ed.  Maspero,  line  57G. 


RA  THE  HEAD  OF  THE  GODS. 


29 


up  to  heaven.  Ra  hath  begotten  Pepi,  and  he  goeth 
forth  and  raiseth  himself  up  to  heaven.  Ra  hath  con¬ 
ceived  Pepi,  and  he  goeth  forth  and  raiseth  himself 
up  to  heaven.  Ra  hath  given  birth  to  Pepi,  and  he 
o-oeth  forth  and  raiseth  himself  up  to  heaven; ”  Sub- 

o 

stantially  these  ideas  remained  the  same  from  the 
earliest  to  the  latest  times,  and  Ra  maintained  his 
position  as  the  great  head  of  the  companies,  notwith- 
standing  the  rise  of  Amen  into  prominence,  and  the 

attempt  to  make  Aten  the  dominant  god  of  Egypt  by 

1  ..... 

the  so-called  “  Disk  worshippers.”  The  following  good 

.  . 

typical  examples  of  Hymns  to  Ra  are  taken  from  the 
oldest  copies  of  the  Theban  Recension  of  the  Book  of 
the  Dead. 


I.  From  the  Papyrus  of  Ani.1 

“  Homage  to  thee,  O  thou  who  hast  come  as  Khepera, 
Khepera  the  creator  of  the  gods.  Thou  risest  and 
thou  shinest,  and  thou  makest  light  to  be  in  thy 
mother  Nut  ( i.e .,  the  sky) ;  thou  art  crowned  king  of 
the  gods.  Thy  mother  Nut  doeth  an  act  of  homage 
unto  thee  with  both  her  hands.  The  land  of  Manu 
(i.e.,  the  land  where  the  sun  sets)  receiveth  thee  with 
satisfaction,  and  the  goddess  Maat  embraceth  thee 
both  at  morn  and  at  eve.2  Hail,  all  ye  gods  of  the 

1  See  The  Chapters  of  Coming  Forth  by  Day ,  p.  3. 

2  I.e.,  Maat,  the  goddess  of  law,  order,  regularity,  and  the  like,  maketli 
the  sun  to  rise,  each  day  in  his  appointed  place  and  at  his  appointed 
time  with  absolute  and  unfailing  regularity. 


30 


HYMN  TO  RA  (ABOUT  B.C.  1550). 


Temple  of  the  Soul,1  who  weigh  heaven  and  earth  in 
the  balance,  and  who  provide  divine  food  in  abundance  ! 
Hail,  Tatunen,  thou  One,  thou  Creator  of  mankind  and 
Maker  of  the  substance  of  the  gods  of  the  south  and 
of  the  north,  of  the  west  and  of  the  east !  0  come  ye 

and  acclaim  Ea,  the  lord  of  heaven  and  the  Creator  of 
the  gods,  and  adore  ye  him  in  his  beautiful  form  as 

m  t  -1  -  ^^*^  i*** 

"lie  cometh  in  the  morning  in  his  divine  bark. 

“0  Ea,  those  who  dwell  in  the  heights  and  those 
who  dwell  in  the  depths  adore  thee.  The  god  Thoth 
and  the  goddess  Maat  have  marked  out  for  thee  [thy 
course]  for  each  and  every  day.  Thine  enemy  the 
Serpent  hath  been  given  over  to  the  fire,  the  serpent- 


fiend  Sebau  hath  fallen  down  headlong  ;  his  arms  have 

■  ■"  ■ 

been  bound  in  chains,  and  thou  hast  hacked  off  his 


legs ;  and  the  sons  of  impotent  revolt  shall  nevermore 
rise  up  against  thee.  The  Temple  of  the  Aged  One  2 
(^.e.,JRa)  keepeth  festival,  and  the  voice  of  those  who 
rejoice  is  in  the  mighty  dwelling.  The  gods  exult 
when  they  see  thy  rising,  0  Ea,  and  when  thy  beams 
flood  the  world  with  light.  The  Majesty  of  the  holy 
god  goeth  forth  and  advanceth  even  unto  the  land  of 
Manu;  he  maketh  brilliant  the  earth  at  his  birth  each 
day ;  he  journey eth  on  to  the  place  where  he  was 
yesterday.” 


1  /.<?.,  the  soul  referred  to  above  in  the  account  of  the  creation ; 
see  p.  24. 

2  I.e.,  Ra  of  Heliopolis. 


HYMN  TO  RA  (ABOUT  B.C.  1 350). 


31 


II.  From  the  Papyrus  of  Hunefer.1 

“  Homage  to  thee,  0  thou  who  art  Pa  when  thou 
visest  and  Ternu  when  thou  settest.  Thou  risest,  thou 
risest,  thou  shinest,  thou  shinest,  0  thou  who  art 
crowned  king  of  the  gods.  Thou  art  the  lord  of 
heaven,  thou  art  the  lord  of  earth;  thou  art  the 
creator  of  those  who  dwell  in  the  heights,  and  of  those 
who  dwell  in  the  depths.  Thou  art  the  One  God  who 
came  into  being  in  the  beginning  of  time.  Thou  didst 
create  the  earth,  thou  didst  fashion  man,  thou  didst 
make  the  watery  abyss  of  the  sky,  thou  didst  form 
Hapi  (i.e.,  the  Nile),  thou  didst  create  the  great  deep, 
and  thou  dost  give  life  unto  all  that  therein  is.  Thou 
hast  knit  together  the  mountains,  thou  hast  made 
mankind  and  the  beasts  of  the  field  to  come  into  beino- 

tv 

thou  hast  made  the  heavens  and  the  earth.  Wor¬ 
shipped  be  thou  whom  the  goddess  Maat  embraceth  at 
morn  and  at  eve.  Thou  dost  travel  across  the  sky 
with  thy  heart  swelling  with  joy;  the  great  deep  of 
heaven  is  content  thereat.  The  serpp.nt-fiftnri  NaV  2 
hath  fallen,  and  his  arms  are  cut  off.  The  Sektet3 
boat  receiveth  fair  winds,  and  the  heart  of  him  that 
is  in  the  shrine  thereof  rejoiceth. 

“  ihou  art  crowned  Prince  of  heaven,  and  thou  art 

1  From  the  Papyrus  of  Hunefer  (Brit.  Mus.  No.  9901). 

2  A  name  of  the  serpent  of  darkness  which  Ra  slew  daily. 

3  The  boat  in  which  Ra  sailed  from  noon  to  sunset. 

Mw.  v.- 


32 


IDENTIFICATION  OF  AMEN  WITH  RA. 


tlie  One  [dowered  with  all  sovereignty]  who  appearest 
in  the  sky.  Ra  is  he  who  is  true  of  voice.1  Hail, 
thou  divine  youth,  thou  heir  of  everlastingness,  thou 
self-begotten  One  !  Hail,  thou  who  didst  give  thyself 
birth!  Hail,  One,  thou  mighty  being,  of  myriad 
forms  and  aspects,  thou  king  of  the  world,  prince  of 
Annu  (Heliopolis),  lord  of  eternity,  and  ruler  of  ever¬ 
lastingness  !  The  company  ol  the  gods  rejoice  when 
thou  risest  and  dost  sail  across  the  sky,  0  thou  who 
art  exalted  in  the  Sektet  boat.” 

“  Homage  to  thee,  0  Amen-Ra,2  who  dost  rest  upon 
Maat ; 3  thou  passest  over  heaven  and  every  face  seeth 
thee.  Thou  dost  wax  great  as  thy  Majesty  doth 
advance,  and  thy  rays  are  upon  all  faces.  Thou  art 
unknown,  and  no  tongue  can  declare  thy  likeness ; 
thou  thyself  alone  [canst  do  this].  Thou  art  One  .  .  . 
Men  praise  thee  in  thy  name,  and  they  swear  by  thee, 
for  thou  art  lord  over  them.  Thou  hearest  with  thine 
ears,  and  thou  seest  with  thine  eyes.  Millions  of  years 
have  gone  over  the  world.  I  cannot  tell  the  number 
of  those  through  which  thou  hast  passed.  Thy  heart 
hath  decreed  a  day  of  happiness  in  thy  name  of 
c  Traveller/  Thou  dost  pass  over  and  dost  travel 
through  untold  spaces  [requiring]  millions  and  hundreds 

1  i.e.,  whatsoever  Ra  commandetli  taketh  place  straightway ;  see 
the  Chapter  on  the  Judgment  of  the  Dead,  p.  110. 

2  On  the  god  Amen,  see  the  chapter,  “  The  Gods  of  the  Egyptians.” 

3  J.e.,  “  thy  existence,  and  thy  risings  and  settings  are  ordered  and 
defined  by  fixed,  unchanging,  and  unalterable  law.” 


HYMN  AND  PRAYER  TO  RA  (ABOUT  B.C.  1550J.  33 

of  thousands  of  years  [to  pass  over] ;  thou  passest 
through  them  in  peace,  and  thou  steerest  thy  way 
across  the  watery  abyss  to  the  place  which  thou 
lovest;  this  thou  doest  in  one  little  moment  of  time, 
and  then  thou  dost  sink  down  and  dost  make  an  end 
of  the  hours.” 


III.  From  the  Papyrus  of  Ani.1 

The  following  beautiful  composition,  part  hymn  and 
part  prayer,  is  of  exceptional  interest. 

“  Hail,  thou  Disk,  thou  lord  of  rays,  who  risest  on 
the  horizon  day  by  day !  Shine  thou  with  thy  beams 
of  light  upon  the  face  of  Osiris  Ani,  who  is  true  of 
voice;  for  he  singeth  hymns  of  praise  unto  thee  at 
dawn,  and  he  maketh  thee  to  set  at  eventide  with 
words  of  adoration.  May  the  soul  of  Ani  come  forth 
with  thee  into  heaven,  may  he  go  forth  in  the  Matet 
boat.  May  he  come  into  port  in  the  Sektet  boat,  and 
may  he  cleave  his  path  among  the  never-resting  stars 
in  the  heavens. 

“  Osiris  Ani,  being  in  peace  and  triumph,  adoreth 
his  lord,  the  lord  of  eternity,  saying,  ‘  Homage  to 
thee,  0  Heru-khuti  (Harmachis),  who  art  the  god 
Khepera,  the  self-created  one ;  when  thou  risest  on 
the  horizon  and  sheddest  thy  beams  of  light  upon 
the  lands  of  the  North  and  of  the  South,  thou  art 

1  Plate  20. 


D 


34 


PRAYER  FOR  A  RENEWED  BODY. 


beautiful,  yea  beautiful,  and  all  the  gods  rejoice  when 
they  behold  thee,  the  king  of  heaven.  The  goddess 
Nebt-Unnut  is  stablished  upon  thy  head;  and  her 
uraei  of  the  South  and  of  the  North  are  upon  thy 
brow ;  she  taketh  up  her  place  before  thee.  The  god 
Thoth  is  stablished  in  the  bows  of  thy  boat  to  destroy 
utterly  all  thy  foes.  Those  who  are  in  the  Tuat 
(underworld)  come  forth  to  meet  thee,  and  they  bow 
low  in  homage  as  they  come  towards  thee,  to  behold 
thy  beautiful  form.  And  I  have  come  before  thee 
that  I  may  be  with  thee  to  behold  thy  Disk  each  day. 
May  I  not  be  shut  up  [in  the  tomb],  may  I  not  be 
turned  back,  may  the  limbs  of  my  body  be  made  new 
again  when  I  view  thy  beauties,  even  as  [are  those  of] 
all  thy  favoured  ones,  because  I  am  one  of  those  who 
worshipped  thee  upon  earth.  May  I  come  unto  the 
land  of  eternity,  may  I  come  even  unto  the  everlasting 
land,  for  behold,  0  my  lord,  this  hast  thou  ordained 
for  me.’ 

“  ‘  Homage  to  thee,  0  thou  who  risest  in  thy  horizon 
as  Ka,  thou  restest  upon  Maat.1  Thou  passest  over 
the  sky,  and  every  face  watcheth  thee  and  thy  course, 
for  thou  hast  been  hidden  from  their  gaze.  Thou 
dost  show  thyself  at  dawn  and  at  eventide  day  by 
day.  The  Sektet  boat,  wherein  is  thy  Majesty,  goeth 
forth  with  might ;  thy  beams  are  upon  [all]  faces ; 
thy  rays  of  red  and  yellow  cannot  be  known,  and  thy 

1  I.e.j  unchanging  and  unalterable  law. 


RA  THE  LIKENESS  OF  GOD. 


9 


35 


bright  beams  cannot  be  told.  The  lands  of  the  gods 
and  the  eastern  lands  of  Punt1  must  be  seen  ere  that 
which  is  hidden  [in  thee]  may  be  measured.2  Alone 
and  by  thyself  thou  dost  manifest  thyself  [when]  thou 
comest  into  being  above  Nu.  May  I  advance,  even 
as  thou  dost  advance ;  may  I  never  cease  [to  go 
forward],  even  as  thy  Majesty  ceaseth  not  [to  go 
forward],  even  though  it  be  for  a  moment;  for  with 
strides  dost  thou  in  one  brief  moment  pass  over  spaces 
which  [man]  would  need  hundreds  of  thousands,  yea, 
millions  of  years  to  pass  over ;  [this]  thou  doest,  and 
then  thou  dost  sink  to  rest.  Thou  puttest  an  end  to 
the  hours  of  the  night,  and  thou  dost  count  them,  even 
thou ;  thou  endest  them  in  thine  own  appointed  season, 
and  the  earth  becometh  light.  Thou  settest  thyself 
before  thy  handiwork  in  the  likeness  of  Ea ;  thou 
risest  in  the  horizon.’ 

“  Osiris,  the  scribe  Ani,  declareth  his  praise  of  thee 
when  thou  sliinest,  and  when  thou  risest  at  dawn  he 
crieth  in  his  joy  at  thy  birth,  saying  : — 

“  ‘  Thou  art  crowned  with  the  majesty  of  thy  beauties  ; 
thou  mouldest  thy  limbs  as  thou  dost  advance,  and 
thou  bringest  them  forth  without  birth-pangs  in  the 
form  of  Ea,  as  thou  dost  rise  up  in  the  celestial  height. 
Grant  thou  that  I  may  come  unto  the  heaven  which 

1  l.e the  east  and  west  coasts  of  the  Red  Sea,  and  the  north-east 
coast  of  Africa. 

2  I  am  doubtful  about  the  meaning  of  this  passage. 


t>6  RA  THE  POWER  OF  POWERS. 

is  everlasting,  and  unto  the  mountain  where  dwell  thy 
favoured  ones.  May  I  be  joined  unto  those  shining 
beings,  holy  and  perfect,  who  are  in  the  underworld ; 
and  may  I  come  forth  with  them  to  behold  thy  beauties 
when  thou  shines t  at  eventide,  and  goest  to  thy  mother 
Nut.  Thou  dost  place  thyself  in  the  west,  and  my 
hands  adore  [thee]  when  thou  settest  as  a  living  being.1 
Behold,  thou  art  the  everlasting  creator,  and  thou  art 
adored  [as  such  when]  thou  settest  in  the  heavens. 
I  have  given  my  heart  to  thee  without  wavering,  0 

thou  who  art  mightier  than  the  gods.’ 

“  A  hymn  of  praise  to  thee,  0  thou  who  risest  like 
unto  gold,  and  who  dost  flood  the  world  with  light  on 
the  day  of  thy  birth.  Thy  mother  giveth  thee  birth, 
and  straightway  thou  dost  give  light  upon  the  path 
of  [thy]  Disk,  0  thou  great  Light  who  shinest  in  the 
heavens.  Thou  makest  the  generations  of  men  to 
flourish  through  the  Nile-flood,  and  thou  dost  cause 
gladness  to  exist  in  all  lands,  and  in  all  cities,  and 
in  all  temples.  Thou  art  glorious  by  reason  of  thy 
splendours,  and  thou  makest  strong  thy  KA  (i.e. 
Double)  with  divine  foods,  0  thou  mighty  one  of 
victories,  thou  Power  of  Powers,  who  dost  make  strong 
thy  throne  against  evil  fiends — thou  who  art  glorious 
in  Majesty  in  the  Sektet  boat,  and  most  mighty  in 
the  Atet 2  boat !  ” 

.  1  I.e.,  “because  when  thou  settest  thou  dost  not  die.” 

'  The  Sun’s  evening  and  morning  boats  respectively. 


37 


HYMN  TO  RA  (ABOUT  B.C.  I IOO). 

This  selection  may  be  fittingly  closed  by  a  short 
hymn 1  which,  though  of  a  later  date,  reproduces  in 
a  brief  form  all  the  essentials  of  the  longer  hymns 
of  the  XVIlIth  dynasty  (about  b.c.  1700  to  1400). 

“  Homage  to  thee,  0  thou  glorious  Being,  thou  who 
art  dowered  [with  all  sovereignty].  0  Temu-Harma- 
chis,2  when  thou  risest  in  the  horizon  of  heaven,  a 
cry  of  joy  cometh  forth  to  thee  from  the  mouth  of 
all  peoples.  0  thou  beautiful  Being,  thou  dost  renew 
thyself  in  thy  season  in  the  form  of  the  Disk  within 
thy  mother  Hathor;3  therefore  in  every  place  every 
heart  swelleth  with  joy  at  thy  rising  for  ever.  The 
regions  of  the  North  and  South  come  to  thee  with 
homage,  and  send  forth  acclamations  at  thy  rising 
in  the  horizon  of  heaven ;  thou  illuminest  the  two 
lands  with  rays  of  turquoise  light.  Hail,  Ba,  thou 
who  art  Ba-Harmachis,  thou  divine  man-child,  heir 
of  eternity,  self-begotten  and  self-born,  king  of  the 
earth,  prince  of  the  underworld,  governor  of  the  regions 
of  Aukert  ( i.e .,  the  underworld)  !  Thou  didst  come 
forth  from  the  water,  thou  hast  sprung  from  the  god 
Nu,  who  cherisheth  thee  and  ordereth  thy  members. 
Hail,  god  of  life,  thou  lord  of  love,  all  men  live  when 
thou  shinest ;  thou  art  crowned  king  of  the  gods.  The 
goddess  Nut  doetli  homage  unto  thee,  and  the  goddess 

1  From  the  Papyrus  of  Nekht  (Brit.  Mus.  No.  10,471). 

2  The  evening  and  morning  sun  respectively. 

3  Like  Nut,  a  goddess  of  the  sky,  but  particularly  of  that  portion 
of  it  in  which  the  sun  rises. 


38  PRAISES  OF  RA  THE  ETERNAL  GOD. 

Maat  embraceth  thee  at  all  times.  Those  who  are  in 
thy  following  sing  unto  thee  with  joy  and  bow  down 
their  foreheads  to  the  earth  when  they  meet  thee, 
thou  lord  of  heaven,  thou  lord  of  earth,  thou  king 
of  Right  and  Truth,  thou  lord  of  eternity,  thou  prince 
of  everlastingness,  thou  sovereign  of  all  the  gods,  thou 
god  of  life,  thou  creator  of  eternity,  thou  maker  of 
heaven,  wherein  thou  art  firmly  established.  The 
company  of  the  gods  rejoice  at  thy  rising,  the  earth 
is  glad  when  it  beholdeth  thy  rays ;  the  peoples  that 
have  been  long  dead  come  forth  with  cries  of  joy  to 
see  thy  beauties  every  day.  Thou  goest  forth  each 
day  over  heaven  and  earth,  and  art  made  strong  each 
day  by  thy  mother  Nut.  Thou  passest  through  the 
heights  of  heaven,  thy  heart  swelleth  with  joy;  the 
abyss  of  the  sky  is  content  thereat.  The  Serpent- 
fiend  hath  fallen,  his  arms  are  hewn  off,  and  the  knife 
hath  cut  asunder  his  joints.  Ra  liveth  in  Maat  the 
beautiful.  The  Sektet  boat  draweth  on  and  cometh 
into  port;  the  South  and  the  North,  the  West  and  the 
East,  turn  to  praise  thee,  0  thou  primeval  substance  of 
the  earth  who  didst  come  into  being  of  thine  own 
accord.  Isis  and  Neplithys  salute  thee,  they  sing  unto 
thee  songs  of  joy  at  thy  rising  in  the  boat,  they 
protect  thee  with  their  hands.  The  souls  of  the  East 
follow  thee,  the  souls  of  the  West  praise  thee.  Thou 
art  the  ruler  of  all  the  gods,  and  thou  hast  joy  of 
heart  within  thy  shrine ;  for  the  Serpent-fiend  Nak 


RESPECT  FOR  TRADITIONAL  BELIEFS.  39 

hath  been  condemned  to  the  fire,  and  thy  heart  shall 
be  joyful  for  ever.” 

From  the  considerations  set  forth  in  the  preceding 
pages,  and  from  the  extracts  from  religious  texts  of 
various  periods,  and  from  the  hymns  quoted,  the 
reader  may  himself  judge  the  views  which  the  ancient 
Egyptian  held  concerning  God  Almighty  and  his  visible 
type  and  symbol  Ea,  the  Sun-god.  Egyptologists  differ 
in  their  interpretations  of  certain  passages,  but  agree 
as  to  general  facts.  In  dealing  with  the  facts  it  cannot 
be  too  clearly  understood  that  the  religious  ideas  of 
the  prehistoric  Egyptian  were  very  different  from 
those  of  the  cultured  priest  of  Memphis  in  the  Ilnd 
dynasty,  or  those  of  the  worshippers  of  Temu  or  Atum, 
the  god  of  the  setting  sun,  in  the  IVtli  dynasty. 
The  editors  of  religions  texts  of  all  periods  have 
retained  many  grossly  superstitious  and  coarse  beliefs, 
which  they  knew  well  to  be  the  products  of  the  imagi¬ 
nations  of  their  savage,  or  semi-savage  ancestors,  not 
because  they  themselves  believed  in  them,  or  thought 
that  the  laity  to  whom  they  ministered  would  accept 
them,  but  because  of  their  reverence  for  inherited 
traditions.  The  followers  of  every  great  religion  in 
the  world  have  never  wholly  shaken  off  all  the  super¬ 
stitions  which  they  have  in  all  generations  inherited 
from  their  ancestors ;  and  what  is  true  of  the  peoples 
of  the  past  is  true,  in  a  degree,  of  the  peoples  of 
to-day.  In  the  East  the  older  the  ideas,  and  beliefs, 


40  DEVELOPMENT  OF  SPIRITUAL  CONCEPTIONS. 

and  traditions  are,  the  more  sacred  they  become;  but 
this  has  not  prevented  men  there  from  developing  high 
moral  and  spiritual  conceptions  and  continuing  to 
believe  in  them,  and  among  such  must  be  counted 
the  One,  self-begotten,  and  self-existent  God  whom  the 
Egyptians  worshipped. 


(  41  ) 


CHAPTER  II. 

OSIRIS  THE  GOD  OF  THE  RESURRECTION. 

The  Egyptians  of  every  period  in  which  they  are 
known  to  us  believed  that  Osiris  was  of  divine  origin, 
that  he  suffered  death  and  mutilation  at  the  hands 
of  the  powers  of  evil,  that  after  a  great  struggle  with 
these  powers  he  rose  again,  that  he  became  henceforth 
the  king  of  the  underworld  and  judge  of  the  dead,  and 
that  because  he  had  conquered  death  the  righteous  also 
might  conquer  death ;  and  they  raised  Osiris  to  such 
an  exalted  position  in  heaven  that  he  became  the  equal 
and,  in  certain  cases,  the  superior  of  Ba,  the  Sun-god, 
and  ascribed  to  him  the  attributes  which  belong  unto 
God.  However  far  back  we  go,  we  find  that  these 
views  about  Osiris  are  assumed  to  be  known  to  the 
reader  of  religious  texts  and  accepted  by  him,  and  in 
the  earliest  funeral  book  the  position  of  Osiris  in 
respect  of  the  other  gods  is  identical  with  that  which 
he  is  made  to  hold  in  the  latest  copies  of  the  Book 
of  the  Dead.  The  first  writers  of  the  ancient  hiero¬ 
glyphic  funeral  texts  and  their  later  editors  have 


42 


THE  HISTORY  OF  ISIS  AND  OSIRIS 


assumed  so  completely  that  the  history  of  Osiris  was 
^  known  unto  all  men,  that  none  of  them,  as  far  as  we 
know,  thought  it  necessary  to  write  down  a  connected 
narrative  of  the  life  and  sufferings  upon  earth  of  this 
god,  or  if  they  did,  it  has  not  come  down  to  us.  Even 
in  the  Yth  dynasty  we  find  Osiris  and  the  gods  of  his 
cycle,  or  company,  occupying  a  peculiar  and  special 
place  in  the  compositions  written  for  the  benefit  of 
the  dead,  and  the  stone  and  other  monuments  which 
belong  to  still  earlier  periods  mention  ceremonies  the 
performance  of  which  assumed  the  substantial  accuracy 
of  the  history  of  Osiris  as  made  known  to  us  by  later 
wTiters.  But  we  have  a  connected  history  of  Osiris 
which,  though  not  written  in  Egyptian,  contains  so 
much  that  is  of  Egyptian  origin  that  we  may  be  sure 
that  its  author  drew  his  information  from  Egyptian 
sources :  I  refer  to  the  work,  De  Iside  et  Osiride,  of 
the  Greek  writer,  Plutarch,  who  flourished  about  the 
middle  of  the  first  century  of  our  era.  In  it,  unfortu¬ 
nately,  Plutarch  identifies  certain  of  the  Egyptian  gods 
with  the  gods  of  the  Greeks,  and  he  adds  a  number 
of  statements  which  rest  either  upon  his  own  imagina¬ 
tion,  or  are  the  results  of  misinformation.  The  trans¬ 
lation  1  by  Squire  runs  as  follows  : — 

“  Pihea,2  say  they,  having  accompanied  Saturn 3  by 

1  Plutarchi  de  Iside  et  Osiride  liler  :  Greece  et  Anglice.  By  S. 
Squire,  Cambridge,  1744. 

I.e,,  Nut. 


3  I.e.,  Seb. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  OSIRIS. 


43 


stealth,  was  discovered  by  the  Sun,1  who  hereupon 
denounced  a  curse  upon  her,  ‘  that  she  should  not  be 
delivered  in  any  month  or  year  ’ — Mercury,  however, 
being  likewise  in  love  with  the  same  goddess,  in  recom¬ 
pense  of  the  favours  which  he  had  received  from  her, 
plays  at  tables  with  the  Moon,  and  wins  from  her  the 
seventieth  part  of  each  of  her  illuminations;  these 
several  parts,  making  in  the  whole  five  days,  he  after¬ 
wards  joined  together,  and  added  to  the  three  hundred 
and  sixty,  of  which  the  year  formerly  consisted,  which 
days  therefore  are  even  yet  called  by  the  Egyptians 
the  Epact  or  superadd ed,  and  observed  by  them  as  the 
birthdays  of  their  gods.  For  upon  the  first  of  them, 
say  they,  was  Osiris  born,  just  at  whose  entrance  into 
the  world  a  voice  was  heard,  saying,  ‘  The  lord  of  all 
the  earth  is  born.’  There  are  some  indeed  who  relate 
this  circumstance  in  a  different  manner,  as  that  a 
certain  person,  named  Pamyles,  as  he  was  fetching 
water  from  the  temple  of  Jupiter  at  Thebes,  heard  a 
voice  commanding  him  to  proclaim  aloud  that  ‘the 
good  and  great  king  Osiris  was  then  born  ’ ;  and  that 
for  this  reason  Saturn  committed  the  education  of  the 
child  to  him,  and  that  in  memory  of  this  event  the 
Pamylia  were  afterwards  instituted,  a  festival  much 
resembling  the  Phalliphoria  or  Priapeia  of  the  Greeks. 
Upon  the  second  of  these  days  was  Aroueris  2  born, 
whom  some  call  Apollo,  and  others  distinguish  by  the 

1  I.e.y  Ra. 


2  Ie.,  Heru-ur,  “  Horus  the  Elder.” 


44 


BIRTH  OF  SET  AND  NEPHTHYS. 


name  of  the  elder  Orus.  Upon  the  third  Typho  1  came 
into  the  world,  being  born  neither  at  the  proper  time, 
nor  by  the  proper  place,  but  forcing  his  way  through 
a  wound  which  he  had  made  in  his  mother’s  side.  Isis 
was  born  upon  the  fourth  of  them  in  the  marshes  of 
Egypt,  as  Nepthys  was  upon  the  last,  whom  some  call 
Teleute  and  Aphrodite,  and  others  Nike — Now  as 
to  the  fathers  of  these  children,  the  two  first  of 
them  are  said  to  have  been  begotten  by  the  Sun, 
Isis  by  Mercury,  Typho  and  Nepthys  by  Saturn; 
and  accordingly,  the  third  of  these  superadded  days, 
because  it  was  looked  upon  as  the  birthday  of  Typho, 
was  regarded  by  the  kings  as  inauspicious,  and  con¬ 
sequently  they  neither  transacted  any  business  on  it, 
or  even  suffered  themselves  to  take  any  refreshment 
until  the  evening.  They  further  add,  that  Typho 
married  Nepthys ;  and  that  Isis  and  Osiris,  having 
a  mutual  affection,  loved  each  other  in  their  mother’s 
womb  before  they  were  born,  and  that  from  this  com¬ 
merce  sprang  Aroueris,  whom  the  Egyptians  likewise 
call  the  elder  Orus,  and  the  Greeks  Apollo. 

“  Osiris,  being  now  become  king  of  Egypt,  applied 
himself  towards  civilizing  his  countrymen,  by  turning 
them  from  their  former  indigent  and  barbarous  course 
of  life ;  he  moreover  taught  them  how  to  cultivate  and 
improve  the  fruits  of  the  earth ;  he  gave  them  a  body 
of  laws  to  regulate  their  conduct  by,  and  instructed 

1  I.e.,  Set. 


THE  CONSPIRACY  OF  SET. 


45 


them  in  that  reverence  and  worship  which  they  were 
to  pay  to  the  gods.  With  the  same  good  disposition 
he  afterwards  travelled  over  the  rest  of  the  world 
inducing  the  people  everywhere  to  submit  to  his 
discipline;  not  indeed  compelling  them  by  force  of 
arms,  but  persuading  them  to  yield  to  the  strength 
of  his  reasons,  which  were  conveyed  to  them  in  the 
most  agreeable  manner,  in  hymns  and  songs,  accom¬ 
panied  by  instruments  of  music:  from  which  last 
circumstance  the  Greeks  conclude  him  to  have  been 
the  same  with  their  Dionysius  or  Bacchus — During 
Osiris’  absence  from  his  kingdom,  Typho  had  no 
opportunity  of  making  any  innovations  in  the  state, 
Isis  being  extremely  vigilant  in  the  government,  and 
always  upon  her  guard.  After  his  return,  however, 
having  first  persuaded  seventy-two  other  persons  to 
join  with  him  in  the  conspiracy,  together  with  a 
certain  queen  of  Ethiopia  named  Aso,  who  chanced 
to  be  in  Egypt  at  that  time,  he  contrived  a  proper 
stratagem  to  execute  his  base  designs.  For  haviim 
privily  taken  the  measure  of  Osiris’  body,  he  caused 
a  chest  to  be  made  exactly  of  the  same  size  with  it, 
as  beautiful  as  may  be,^  and  set  off  with  all  the  orna¬ 
ments  of  art.  This  chest  he  brought  into  his  banquet- 
ing-room  ;  where,  after  it  had  been  much  admired  by 
all  who  were  present,  Typho,  as  it  were  in  jest,  promised 
to  give  it  to  any  one  of  them  whose  body  upon  trial 
it  might  be  found  to  fit.  Upon  this  the  whole  company, 


4 6  OSIRIS  IS  TREACHEROUSLY  MURDERED. 

one  after  another,  go  into  it;  but  as  it  did  not  fit 
any  of  them,  last  of  all  Osiris  lays  himself  down  in 
it,  upon  which  the  conspirators  immediately  ran 
together,  clapped  the  cover  upon  it,  and  then  fastened 
it  down  on  the  outside  with  nails,  pouring  likewise 
melted  lead  over  it.  After  this  they  carried  it  away 
to  the  river  side,  and  conveyed  it  to  the  sea  by  the 
Tanaitic  mouth  of  the  Nile ;  which,  for  this  reason, 
is  still  held  in  the  utmost  abomination  by  the 
Egyptians,  and  never  named  by  them  but  with  proper 
marks  of  detestation.  These  things,  say  they,  were 
thus  executed  upon  the  17th 1  day  of  the  month 
Athyr,  when  the  sun  was  in  Scorpio,  in  the  28th  year 
of  Osiris’  reign  ;  though  there  are  others  who  tell  us 
that  he  was  no  more  than  28  years  old  at  this  time. 

“  The  first  who  knew  the  accident  which  had  befallen 
their  king  were  the  Pans  and  Satyrs  who  inhabited 
the  country  about  Cliemmis  (Panopolis) ;  and  they 

immediately  acquainting  the  people  with  the  news 

gave  the  first  occasion  to  the  name  Panic  Terrors, 
which  has  ever  since  been  made  use  of  to  signify  any 
sudden  affright  or  amazement  of  a  multitude.  As  to 
Isis,  as  soon  as  the  report  reached  her  she  immediately 
cut  off  one  of  the  locks  of  her  hair,2  and  put  on  mourn¬ 
ing  apparel  upon  the  very  spot  where  she  then 

happened  to  be,  which  accordingly  from  this  accident 

1  In  the  Egyptian  calendar  this  day  was  marked  triply  unlucky. 

2  The  hair  cut  off  as  a  sign  of  mourning  was  usually  laid  in  the 
tomb  of  the  dead. 


HIS  BODY  CARRIED  TO  THE  SEA. 


47 


has  ever  since  been  called  Koptis,  or  the  city  of  mourn¬ 
ing,  though  some  are  of  opinion  that  this  word  rather 
signifies  deprivation.  After  this  she  wandered  every¬ 
where  about  the  country  full  of  disquietude  and  per¬ 
plexity  in  search  of  the  chest,  inquiring  of  every  person 
she  met  with,  even  of  some  children  whom  she  chanced 
to  see,  whether  they  knew  what  was  become  of  it. 
Now  it  happened  that  these  children  had  seen  what 
Typho’s  accomplices  had  done  with  the  body,  and 
accordingly  acquainted  her  by  what  mouth  of  the  Nile 
it  had  been  conveyed  into  the  sea — For  this  reason 
therefore  the  Egyptians  look  upon  children  as  endued 
with  a  kind  of  faculty  of  divining,  and  in  consequence 
of  this  notion  are  very  curious  in  observing  the 
accidental  prattle  which  they  have  with  one  another 
whilst  they  are  at  play  (especially  if  it  be  in  a  sacred 
place),  forming  omens  and  presages  from  it— Isis, 
during  this  interval,  having  been  informed  that  Osiris, 
deceived  by  her  sister  Nepthys  who  was  in  love  with 
him,  had  unwittingly  united  with  her  instead  of  herself, 
as  she  concluded  from  the  melilot-garland,3  which  he 
had  left  with  her,  made  it  her  business  likewise  to 
search  out  the  child,  the  fruit  of  this  unlawful 
commerce  (for  her  sister,  dreading  the  anger  of  her 
husband  Typho,  had  exposed  it  as  soon  as  it  was 
born),  and  accordingly,  after  much  pains  and  difficulty, 
by  means  of  some  dogs  that  conducted  her  to  the  place 

3  I.e.,  a  wreath  of  clover. 


48  isis  Finds  the  body  of  osiris. 

where  it  was,  she  found  it  and  bred  it  up ;  so  that 
in  process  of  time  it  became  her  constant  guard  and 
attendant,  and  from  hence  obtained  the  name  of  Anubis, 
being  thought  to  watch  and  guard  the  gods,  as  dogs  to 
mankind. 

“  At  length  she  receives  more  particular  news  of 
the  chest,  that  it  had  been  carried  by  the  waves  of  the 
sea  to  the  coast  of  Byblos,1  and  there  gently  lodged 
in  the  branches  of  a  bush  of  Tamarisk,  which,  in  a 
short  time,  had  shot  up  into  a  large  and  beautiful  tree, 
growing  round  the  chest  and  enclosing  it  on  every  side, 
so  that  it  was  not  to  be  seen  ;  and  farther,  that  the 
kin"  of  the  country,  amazed  at  its  unusual  size,  had 
cut  the  tree  down,  and  made  that  part  of  the  trunk 
wherein  the  chest  was  concealed,  a  pillar  to  support 
the  roof  of  his  house.  These  things,  say  they,  being 
made  known  to  Isis  in  an  extraordinary  manner  by 
the  report  of  Demons,  she  immediately  went  to  Byblos  ; 
where,  setting  herself  down  by  the  side  of  a  fountain, 
she  refused  to  speak  to  anybody,  excepting  only  to  the 
queen’s  women  who  chanced  to  be  there ;  these  indeed 
she  saluted  and  caressed  in  the  kindest  manner  possible, 
plaiting  their  hair  for  them,  and  transmitting  into  them 
part  of  that  wonderfully  grateful  odour  which  issued 
from  her  own  body.  This  raised  a  great  desire  in  the 
queen  their  mistress  to  see  the  stranger  who  had  this 

1  Not  the  Byblos  of  Syria  (Jebel)  but  the  papyrus  swamps  of  the 
Delta. 


ISIS  TRANSFORMS  HERSELF.  49 

admirable  faculty  of  transfusing  so  fragrant  a  smell 
from  herself  into  the  hair  and  skin  of  other  people. 
She  therefore  sent  for  her  to  court,  and,  after  a  further 
acquaintance  with  her,  made  her  nurse  to  one  of  her 
sons.  Now  the  name  of  the  king  who  reigned  at  this 
time  at  Byblos,  was  Melcarthus,  as  that  of  his  queen 
was  Astarte,  or,  according  to  others,  Saosis,  though 

some  call  her  Nemanoun,  which  answers  to  the  Greek 
name  Athenais. 

Isis  fed  the  child  by  giving  it  her  finger  to  suck 
instead  of  the  breast;  she  likewise  put  him  every 
night  into  the  fire  in  order  to  consume  his  mortal 
part,  whilst  transforming  herself  into  a  swallow,  she 
hovered  round  the  pillar  and  bemoaned  her  sad  fate. 
Thus  continued  she  to  do  for  some  time,  till  the  queen, 
who  stood  watching  her,  observing  the  child  to  be  all 
m  a  flame,  cryed  out,  and  thereby  deprived  him  of  that 
immortality  which  would  otherwise  have  been  con¬ 
ferred  upon  him.  The  Goddess  upon  this,  discovering 
herself,  requested  that  the  pillar,  which  supported  the 
roof,  might  be  given  her ;  which  she  accordingly  took 
down,  and  then  easily  cutting  it  open,  after  she  had 
taken  out  what  she  wanted,  she  wrapped  up  the  re¬ 
mainder  of  the  trunk  in  fine  linnen,  and  pouring  per¬ 
fumed  oil  upon  it,  delivered  it  again  into  the  hands  of 
the  king  and  queen  (which  piece  of  wood  is  to  this 
day  preserved  in  the  temple  of  Isis,  and  worshipped  by 
the  people  of  Byblos).  When  this  was  done,  she  threw 


E 


50 


THE  MOURNING  OF  ISIS. 


herself  upon  the  chest,  making  at  the  same  time  such 
a  loud  and  terrible  lamentation  over  it,  as  frightened 
the  younger  of  the  king’s  sons,  who  heard  her,  out  of 
his  life.  But  the  elder  of  them  she  took  with  her 
and  set  sail  with  the  chest  for  Egypt ;  and  it  being 
now  about  morning,  the  river  Phsedrus  sending  forth 
a  rough  and  sharp  air,  she  in  her  anger  dried  up  its 
current. 

“No  sooner  was  she  arrived  at  a  desart  place,  where 
she  imagined  herself  to  be  alone,  but  she  presently 
opened  the  chest,  and  laying  her  face  upon  her  dead 
husband’s,  embraced  his  corpse,  and  wept  bitterly; 
but  perceiving  that  the  little  boy  had  silently  stolen 
behind  her,  and  found  out  the  occasion  of  her  grief, 
she  turned  herself  about  on  the  sudden,  and  in  her 
anger  gave  him  so  fierce  and  stern  a  look  that  he 
immediately  died  of  the  affright.  Others  indeed  say 
that  his  death  did  not  happen  in  this  manner,  but,  as 
was  hinted  above,  that  he  fell  into  the  sea,  and  after¬ 
wards  received  the  greatest  honours  on  account  of  the 
Goddess ;  for  that  the  Maneros,1  whom  the  Egyptians 
so  frequently  call  upon  in  their  banquets,  is  none  other 
than  this  very  boy.  This  relation  is  again  contra¬ 
dicted  by  such  as  tell  us  that  the  true  name  of  the 
child  was  Palaestinus,  or  Pelusius,  and  that  the  city 
of  this  name  was  built  by  the  Goddess  in  memory  of 

1  A  son  of  the  first  Egyptian  king,  wlio  died  in  his  early  youth ; 
see  Herodotus,  ii.  79. 


SET  FINDS  THE  BODY  OF  OSIRIS. 


51 


him;  adding  farther,  that  the  Maneros  above  men¬ 
tioned  is  thus  honoured  by  the  Egyptians  at  their 
feasts,  because  he  was  the  first  who  invented  music. 
There  are  others,  again,  who  affirm  that  Maneros  is 
not  the  name  of  any  particular  person,  but  a  mere 
customary  form,  and  complimental  manner  of  greeting 
made  use  of  by  the  Egyptians  one  towards  another  at 
their  more  solemn  feasts  and  banquets,  meaning  no 
more  by  it,  than  to  wish,  that  what  they  were  then 
about  might  prove  fortunate  and  happy  to  them,  for 
that  this  is  the  true  import  of  the  word.  In  like 
manner,  say  they,  the  human  skeleton,  which  at  these 
times  ol  jollity  is  carried  about  in  a  box,  and  shewn  to 
all  the  guests,  is  not  designed,  as  some  imagine,  to 
represent  the  particular  misfortunes  of  Osiris,  but 
rather  to  remind  them  of  their  mortality,  and  thereby 
to  excite  them  freely  to  make  use  of  and  to  enjoy 
the  good  things  which  are  set  before  them,  seeing  they 
must  quickly  become  such  as  they  there  saw ;  and 
that  this  is  the  true  reason  of  introducing  it  at  their 
banquets— but  to  proceed  in  the  narration. 

“  Isis  intending  a  visit  to  her  son  Orus,  who  was 
brought  up  at  Butus,  deposited  the  chest  in  the  mean¬ 
while  in  a  remote  and  unfrequented  place :  Typho 
however,  as  he  was  one  night  hunting  by  the  light 
of  the  moon,  accidentally  met  with  it;  and  knowing 
the  body  which  was  enclosed  in  it,  tore  it  into  several 
pieces,  fourteen  in  all,  dispersing  them  up  and  down 


52 


THE  SEPULCHRES  OF  OSIRIS. 


in  different  parts  of  the  country— Upon  being  made 
acquainted  with  this  event,  Isis  once  more  sets  out 
in  search  of  the  scattered  fragments  of  her  husband’s 
body,  making  use  of  a  boat  made  of  the  reed  Papyrus 
in  order  the  more  easily  to  pass  thro  the  lower 
and  fenny  parts  of  the  country— For  which  reason, 
say  they,  the  crocodile  never  touches  any  persons,  who 
sail  in  this  sort  of  vessels,  as  either  fearing  the  anger 
of  the  goddess,  or  else  respecting  it  on  account  of  its 
having  once  carried  her.  To  this  occasion  therefore 
is  it  to  be  imputed,  that  there  are  so  many  different 
sepulchres  of  Osiris  shewn  in  Egypt ;  for  we  are  told, 
that  wherever  Isis  met  with  any  of  the  scattered  limbs 
of  her  husband,  she  there  buried  it.  There  are  others 
however  who  contradict  this  relation,  and  tell  us,  that 
this  variety  of  Sepulchres  was  owing  rather  to  the  policy 
of  the  queen,  who,  instead  of  the  real  body,  as  was  pre¬ 
tended,  presented  these  several  cities  with  the  image 
only  of  her  husband :  and  that  she  did  this,  not  only  to 
render  the  honours,  which  would  by  this  means  be  paid 
to  his  memory,  more  extensive,  but  likewise  that  she 
might  hereby  elude  the  malicious  search  of  Typho; 
who,  if  he  got  the  better  of  Orus  in  the  war  wherein 
they  were  going  to  be  engaged,  distracted  by  this 
multiplicity  of  Sepulchres,  might  despair  of  being  able 
to  find  the  true  one — we  are  told  moreover,  that  not¬ 
withstanding  all  her  search,  Isis  was  never  able  to 
recover  the  member  of  Osiris,  which  having  been 


RETURN  OF  OSIRIS  FROM  THE  OTHER  WORLD.  53 

thrown  into  the  Nile  immediately  upon  its  separation 
from  the  rest  of  the  body,  had  been  devoured  by  the 
Lepidotus,  the  Phagrus,  and  the  Oxyrynchus,  fish  which 
of  all  others,  for  this  reason,  the  Egyptians  have  in 
more  especial  avoidance.  In  order  however  to  make 
some  amends  for  the  loss,  Isis  consecrated  the  Phallus 
made  in  imitation  of  it,  and  instituted  a  solemn  festival 
to  its  memory,  which  is  even  to  this  day  observed  by 
the  Egyptians. 

‘'After  these  things,  Osiris  returning  from  the  other 
world,  appeared  to  his  son  Orus,  encouraged  him  to  the 
battle,  and  at  the  same  time  instructed  him  in  the 
exercise  of  arms.  He  then  asked  him,  ‘what  he 
thought  was  the  most  glorious  action  a  man  could 
perform  ?  ’  to  which  Orus  replied,  ‘  to  revenge  the 
injuries  offered  to  his  father  and  mother.’  He  then 
asked  him,  ‘  what  animal  he  thought  most  serviceable 
to  a  soldier  ?  ’  and  being  answered  ‘  a  horse  ’ ;  this 
raised  the  wonder  of  Osiris,  so  that  he  farther  ques¬ 
tioned  him,  ‘  why  he  preferred  a  horse  before  a 
lion  ?  ’  because,  adds  Orus,  ‘  tho’  the  lion  be  the  more 
serviceable  creature  to  one  who  stands  in  need  of 
help,  yet  is  the  horse 1  more  useful  in  overtaking  and 
cutting  off  a  flying  adversary.’  These  replies  much 
rejoiced  Osiris,  as  they  showed  him  that  his  son  was 

1  The  horse  does  not  appear  to  have  been  known  in  Egypt  before 
the  XVIIIth  dynasty  ;  this  portion  of  Plutarch’s  version  of  the  history 
of  Osiris  must,  then,  be  later  than  b.c.  1500. 


54 


BATTLE  BETWEEN  SET  AND  HORUS. 


sufficiently  prepared  for  his  enemy— We  are  moreover, 
told,  that  among  the  great  numbers  who  were  con¬ 
tinually  deserting  from  Typho’s  party  was  his  concu¬ 
bine  Thueris,  and  that  a  serpent  pursuing  her  as  she 
was  coming  over  to  Orus,  was  slain  by  her  soldiers — 
the  memory  of  which  action,  say  they,  is  still  preserved 
in  that  cord  which  is  thrown  into  the  midst  of  their 
assemblies,  and  then  chopt  into  pieces  Afterwards 
it  came  to  a  battle  between  them  which  lasted  many 
days;  but  victory  at  length  inclined  to  Orus,  Typho 
himself  being  taken  prisoner.  Isis  however,  to  whose 
custody  he  was  committed,  was  so  far  from  putting  him 
to  death,  that  she  even  loosed  his  bonds  and  set  him 
at  liberty.  This  action  of  his  mother  so  extremely 
incensed  Orus,  that  he  laid  hands  upon  her,  and  pulled 
off  the  ensign  of  royalty  which  she  wore  on  her 
head ;  and  instead  thereof  Hermes  clapt  on  an  helmet 
made  in  the  shape  of  an  oxe’s  head — After  this, 
Typho  publicly  accused  Orus  of  bastardy  ;  but  by  the 
assistance  of  Hermes  (Thoth)  his  legitimacy  was  fully 
established  by  the  judgment  of  the  Gods  themselves — 
After  this,  there  were  two  other  battles  fought  between 
them,  in  both  of  which  Typho  had  the  worst.  Further¬ 
more,  Isis  is  said  to  have  accompanied  with  Osiris  after 
his  death,  and  in  consequence  hereof  to  have  brought 
forth  Harpocrates,  who  came  into  the  world  before 
his  time,  and  lame  in  his  lower  limbs.” 

When  we  examine  this  story  by  the  light  of  the 


EGYPTIAN  ACCOUNT  OF  ISIS  AND  OSIRIS  55 

results  of  hieroglyphic  decipherment,  we  find  that  a 
large  portion  of  it  is  substantiated  by  Egyptian  texts : 
e.g.,  Osiris  was  the  son  of  Seb  and  Nut ;  the  Epact 
is  known  in  the  Calendars  as  “  the  five  additional  days 
of  the  year  ” ;  the  five  gods,  Osiris,  Horus,  Set,  Isis, 
and  Nephthys,  were  born  on  the  days  mentioned  by 
Plutarch;  the  17th  day  of  Athyr  (Hathor)  is  marked 
as  triply  unlucky  in  the  Calendars  ;  the  wanderings 
and  troubles  of  Isis  are  described,  and  “  lamentations  ” 
which  she  is  supposed  to  have  uttered  are  found  in 
the  texts;  lists  of  the  shrines  of  Osiris  are  preserved 
in  several  inscriptions ;  the  avenging  of  his  father  by 
Horus  is  referred  to  frequently  in  papyri  and  other 
documents ;  the  conflict  between  Set  and  Horus  is 
described  fully  in  a  papyrus  in  the  British  Museum 
(No.  10,184) ;  a  hymn  in  the  papyrus  of  Hunefer 
relates  all  that  Tlioth  performed  for  Osiris ;  and  the 
begetting  of  Horus  by  Osiris  after  death  is  mentioned 
in  a  hymn  to  Osiris  dating  from  the  XVIIIth  dynasty 
in  the  following  passage  : — 

“  Thy  sister  put  forth  her  protecting  power  for  thee, 
she  scattered  abroad  those  who  were  her  enemies,  she 
drove  away  evil  hap,  she  pronounced  mighty  words  of 
power,  she  made  cunning  her  tongue,  and  her  words 
failed  not.  The  glorious  Isis  was  perfect  in  command 
and  in  speech,  and  she  avenged  her  brother.  She 
sought  him  without  ceasing,  she  wandered  round  and 
round  the  earth  uttering  cries  of  pain,  and  she  rested 


56  ANTIQUITY  OF  THE  WORSHIP  OF  OSIRIS. 

(or  alighted)  not  until  she  had  found  him.  She  over¬ 
shadowed  him  with  her  feathers,  she  made  air  (or  wind) 
with  her  wings,  and  she  uttered  cries  at  the  burial  of 
her  brother.  She  raised  up  the  prostrate  form  of  him 
whose  heart  was  still,  she  took  from  him  of  his  essence, 
she  conceived  and  brought  forth  a  child,  she  suckled 
it  in  secret,  and  none  knew  the  place  thereof ;  and  the 
arm  of  the  child  hath  waxed  strong  in  the  great  house 
of  Seb.  The  company  of  the  gods  rejoice,  and  are  glad 
at  the  coming  of  Osiris’s  son  Horus,  and  firm  of  heart 
and  triumphant  is  the  son  of  Isis,  the  heir  of  Osiris.”  1 
What  form  the  details  of  the  history  of  Osiris  took 
in  the  early  dynasties  it  is  impossible  to  say,  and  we 
know  not  whether  Osiris  was  the  god  of  the  resur¬ 
rection  to  the  predynastic  or  prehistoric  Egyptians,  or 
whether  that  role  was  attributed  to  him  after  Mena 
began  to  rule  in  Egypt.  There  is,  however,  good 
reason  for  assuming  that  in  the  earliest  dynastic  times 
he  occupied  the  position  of  god  and  judge  of  those 
who  had  risen  from  the  dead  by  his  help,  for  already 
in  the  IVth  dynasty,  about  B.c.  3800,  king  Men-kau-Ra 
(the  Mycerinus  of  the  Greeks)  is  identified  with  him, 
and  on  his  coffin  not  only  is  he  called  “  Osiris,  King 
of  the  South  and  North,  Men-kau-Ra,  living  for  ever,” 
but  the  genealogy  of  Osiris  is  attributed  to  him,  and 

1  This  remarkable  hymn  was  first  made  known  by  Chabas,  who 
published  a  translation  of  it,  with  notes,  in  Revue  Archfologique, 
Paris,  1S57,  t.  xiv.  p.  65  ft’. 


h  ci  o: 


Isis  suckling  her  child  Horns  in  the  papyrus  swamps.  4.  The  goddess  Nekhebet  presenting  years,  and  life,  stability, 

Thoth  giving  the  emblem  of  magical  protection  to  Isis.  power,  and  sovereignty  to  the  son  of  Osiris. 

Amen-Ra  presenting  the  symbol  of  “life”  to  Isis.  5.  The  goddess  Sati  presenting  periods  of  years,  and  life,  stability, 

I  power,  and  sovereignty  to  the  son  of  Osiris. 


OSIRIS  THE  GOD-MAN. 


59 


he  is  declared  to  be  “born  of  heaven,  offspring  of  Nut, 
flesh  and  bone  of  Seb.”  It  is  evident  that  the  priests 
of  Heliopolis  “edited”  the  religious  texts  copied  and 
multiplied  in  the  College  to  suit  their  own  views,  but 
in  the  early  times  when  they  began  their  work,  the 
worship  of  Osiris  was  so  widespread,  and  the  belief 
in  him  as  the  god  of  the  resurrection  so  deeply  in¬ 
grained  in  the  hearts  of  the  Egyptians,  that  even  in 
the  Heliopolitan  system  of  theology  Osiris  and  his 
cycle,  or  company  of  gods,  were  made  to  hold  a  very 
prominent  position.  He  represented  to  men  the  idea 
of  a  man  who  was  both  god  and  man,  and  he  typified 
to  the  Egyptians  in  all  ages  the  being  who  by  reason 
of  his  sufferings  and  death  as  a  man  could  sympathize 
with  them  in  their  own  sickness  and  death.  The  idea 
of  his  human  personality  also  satisfied  their  cravings 
and  yearnings  for  intercourse  with  a  being  who,  though 
he  was  partly  divine,  yet  had  much  in  common  with 
themselves.  Originally  they  looked  upon  Osiris  as 
a  man  who  lived  on  the  earth  as  they  lived,  who  ate 
and  drank,  who  suffered  a  cruel  death,  who  by  the 
help  of  certain  gods  triumphed  over  death,  and  attained 
unto  everlasting  life.  But  what  Osiris  did  they  could 
do,  and  what  the  gods  did  for  Osiris  they  must  also  do 
for  them,  and  as  the  gods  brought  about  his  resurrection 
so  they  must  bring  about  theirs,  and  as  they  made  him 
the  ruler  of  the  underworld  so  they  must  make  them 
to  enter  his  kingdom  and  to  live  there  as  long  as  the 


6o 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  OSIRIS. 


god  himself  lived.  Osiris,  in  some  of  his  aspects,  was 
identified  with  the  Nile,  and  with  Ba,  and  with  several 
other  “  gods  ”  known  to  the  Egyptians,  but  it  was  in 
his  aspect  as  god  of  the  resurrection  and  of  eternal  life 
that  he  appealed  to  men  in  the  valley  of  the  Nile; 
and  for  thousands  of  years  men  and  women  died 
believing  that,  inasmuch  as  all  that  was  done  for  Osiris 
would  be  done  for  them  symbolically,  they  like  him 
would  rise  again  and  inherit  life  everlasting.  However 
far  back  we  trace  religious  ideas  in  Egypt,  we  never 
approach  a  time  when  it  can  be  said  that  there  did 
not  exist  a  belief  in  the  Besurrection,  for  everywhere 
it  is  assumed  that  Osiris  rose  from  the  dead ;  sceptics 
must  have  existed,  and  they  probably  asked  their 
priests  what  the  Corinthians  asked  Saint  Paul,  “  How 
are  the  dead  raised  up  ?  and  with  what  body  do  they 
come  ?  ”  But  beyond  doubt  the  belief  in  the  Besur¬ 
rection  was  accepted  by  the  dominant  classes  in  Egypt. 
The  ceremonies  which  the  Egyptians  performed  with 
the  view  of  assisting  the  deceased  to  pass  the  ordeal 
of  the  judgment,  and  to  overcome  his  enemies  in  the 
next  world,  will  be  described  elsewhere,  as  also  will 
be  the  form  in  which  the  dead  were  raised  up;  we 
therefore  return  to  the  theological  history  of  Osiris. 

The  centre  and  home  of  the  worship  of  Osiris  in 
Egypt  under  the  early  dynasties  was  Abydos,  where 
the  head  of  the  god  was  said  to  be  buried.  It  spread 
north  and  south  in  the  course  of  time,  and  several 


OSIRIS  THE  CAUSE  OF  THE  RESURRECTION.  6 1 

large  cities  claimed  to  possess  one  or  other  of  the  limbs 
of  his  body.  The  various  episodes  in  the  life  of  the 
god  were  made  the  subject  of  solemn  representations 
in  the  temple,  and  little  by  little  the  performance 
of  the  obligatory  and  non-obligatory  services  in  con¬ 
nection  with  them  occupied,  in  certain  temples,  the 
greater  part  of  the  time  of  the  priests.  The  original 
ideas  concerning  the  god  were  forgotten  and  new  ones 
grew  up ;  from  being  the  example  of  a  man  who  had  * 
risen  from  the  dead  and  had  attained  unto  life  ever¬ 
lasting,  he  became  the  cause  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead;  and  the  power  to  bestow  eternal  life  upon 
mortals  was  transferred  from  the  gods  to  him.  The 
alleged  dismemberment  of  Osiris  was  forgotten  in  the 
fact  that  he  dwelt  in  a  perfect  body  in  the  underworld, 
and  that,  whether  dismembered  or  not,  he  had  become 
after  his  death  the  father  of  Horus  by  Isis.  As  early 
as  the  Xllth  dynasty,  about  b.c.  2500,  the  worship 
of  this  god  had  become  almost  universal,  and  a  thousand 
years  later  Osiris  had  become  a  sort  of  national  god. 
The  attributes  of  the  great  cosmic  gods  were  ascribed 
to  him,  and  he  appeared  to  man  not  only  as  the  god 
and  judge  of  the  dead,  but  also  as  the  creator  of  the 
world  and  of  all  things  in  it.  He  who  was  the  son 
of  Ea  became  the  equal  of  his  father,  and  he  took 
his  place  side  by  side  with  him  in  heaven. 

We  have  an  interesting  proof  of  the  identification 
of  Osiris  with  Ea  in  Chapter  XVII.  of  the  Book  of 


62  IDENTIFICATION  OF  OSIRIS  WITH  RA. 

the  Dead.  It  will  be  remembered  that  this  Chapter 
consists  of  a  series  of  what  might  almost  be  called 
articles  of  faith,  each  of  which  is  followed  by  one 
or  more  explanations  which  represent  one  or  more 
quite  different  opinions ;  the  Chapter  also  is  accom¬ 
panied  by  a  series  of  Vignettes.  In  line  110  it  is 
said,  “  I  am  the  soul  which  dwelleth  in  the  two  tchafi } 
What  is  this  then  ?  It  is  Osiris  when  he  goeth  into 
Tattu  (' i.e .,  Busiris)  and  findetli  there  the  soul  of  Ra  ; 
there  the  one  god  embraceth  the  other,  and  souls  spring 
into  being  within  the  two  tchafi In  the  Vignette 
which  illustrates  this  passage  the  souls  of  Ra  and 
Osiris  are  seen  in  the  forms  of  hawks  standing  on  a 
pylon  and  facing  each  other  in  Tattu ;  the  former  has 
upon  his  head  a  disk,  and  the  latter,  who  is  human¬ 
headed,  the  white  crown.  It  is  a  noticeable  fact  that 
even  at  his  meeting  with  Ra  the  soul  of  Osiris  preserves 
the  human  face,  the  sign  of  his  kinship  with  man. 

Now  Osiris  became  not  only  the  equal  of  Ra,  but, 
in  many  respects,  a  greater  god  than  he.  It  is  said 
that  from  the  nostrils  of  the  head  of  Osiris,  which 
was  buried  at  Abydos,  came  forth  the  scarabseus 2 
which  was  at  once  the  emblem  and  type  of  the  god 
Khepera,  who  caused  all  things  to  come  into  being, 
and  of  the  resurrection.  In  this  manner  Osiris  became 
the  source  and  origin  of  gods,  men,  and  things,  and 

1  l.e the  souls  of  Osiris  and  Ra. 

2  See  von  Bergmann  in  Aeg.  Zeitschrift,  1880,  p.  88  ff. 


1  2 


3 


— 1  l"“L 

The  soul  of  Ra  (1)  meeting  the  soul  of  Osiris  (2)  in  Tattu.  The 
cat  (t.e.,  Ra)  by  the  Persea  tree  (3)  cutting  od  the  head  of  the 
serpent  which  typified  night. 


HYMN  TO  OSIRIS. 


65 

ci  lood  of  tli©  t^od  was  forgotten.  The  next 
step  was  to  ascribe  to  him  the  attributes  of  God,  and 
in  the  XVIIIth  and  XIXth  dynasties  he  seems  to  have 
disputed  the  sovereignty  of  the  three  companies  of 
gods,  that  is  to  say  of  the  trinity  of  trinities  of  trinities,1 
with  Amen-Ea,  who  by  this  time  was  usually  called 
the  king  of  the  gods.”  The  ideas  held  concerning 

O 

Osiiis  at  this  period  will  best  be  judged  by  the  following 
extracts  from  contemporary  hymns:  — 

“  Glory  2  be  to  thee,  0  Osiris,  Un-nefer,  the  great  god 
within  Abtu  (Abydos),  king  of  eternity,  lord  of  ever¬ 
lastingness,  who  passest  through  millions  of  years  in 
thy  existence.  The  eldest  son  of  the  womb  of  Xut, 
engendered  by  Seb  the  Ancestor  [of  the  gods],  lord 
of  the  crowns  of  the  South  and  of  the  North,  lord  of 
the  lofty  white  crown;  as  prince  of  gods  and  men 
he  hath  received  the  crook  and  the  whip,  and  the 
dignity  of  his  divine  fathers.  Let  thy  heart,  which 
dwelleth  in  the  mountain  of  Ament,  be  content,  for 
thy  son  Horus  is  stablished  upon  thy  throne.  Thou  art 
crowned  lord  of  Tattu  (Busiris)  and  ruler  in  Abydos.” 

“Praise3  be  unto  thee,  0  Osiris,  lord  of  eternity, 
Un-nefer,  Heru-Khuti  (Harmachis)  whose  forms  are 
manifold,  and  whose  attributes  are  great,  who  art 
Ptah-Seker-Tem  in  Annu  (Heliopolis),  the  lord  of  the 

1  Each  company  of  the  gods  contained  three  trinities  or  triads. 

2  See  Chapters  of  Coming  Forth  by  Day  (translation),  p.  11. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  34. 


F 


66 


HYMN  TO  OSIRIS. 


hidden  place,  and  the  creator  of  Het-ka-Ptalr  (Memphis) 
and  of  the  gods  [therein],  the  guide  of  the  underworld, 
whom  [the  gods]  glorify  when  thou  settest  in  ISTut. 
Isis  embraceth  thee  in  peace,  and  she  driveth  away 
the  fiends  from  the  mouth  of  thy  paths.  Thou  turnest 
thy  face  upon  Amentet,  and  thou  makes t  the  earth 
to  shine  as  with  refined  copper.  The  dead  rise  up 
to  see  thee,  they  breathe  the  air  and  they  look  upon 
thy  face  when  the  disk  riseth  on  its  horizon;  their 
hearts  are  at  peace,  inasmuch  as  they  behold  thee,  0 
thou  who  art  eternity  and  everlastingness.” 

In  the  latter  extract  Osiris  is  identified  with  the 
great  gods  of  Heliopolis  and  Memphis,  where  shrines 
of  the  Sun-god  existed  in  almost  pre-dynastic  times, 
and  finally  is  himself  declared  to  be  “  eternity  and 
everlastingness  ” ;  thus  the  ideas  of  resurrection  and 
immortality  are  united  in  the  same  divine  being.  In 
the  following  Litany  the  process  of  identification  with 
the  gods  is  continued  : — 

1.  “Homage  to  thee,  0  thou  who  art  the  starry 
deities  in  Annu,  and  the  heavenly  beings  in  Klier-aba ; 1 
thou  god  Unti,2  who  art  more  glorious  than  the  gods 
who  are  hidden  in  Annu.  0  grant  thou  unto  me  a 
path  whereon  I  may  pass  in  peace,  for  I  am  just  and 
true ;  I  have  not  spoken  lies  wittingly,  nor  have  I 
done  aught  with  deceit.” 

1  A  district  near  Memphis. 

2  A  god  who  walks  before  the  boat  of  the  god  Af,  holding  a  star  ia 
each  hand. 


A  LITANY. 


67 


2.  “  Homage  to  thee,  0  An  in  Antes,  Harmachis; 
thou  stridest  over  heaven  with  long  strides,  0  Har- 
machis.  0  grant  thou  unto  me  a  path,”  etc.1 

3.  “  Homage  to  thee,  0  soul  of  everlastingness,  thou 
Soul  who  dwellest  in  Tattu,  Un-nefer,  son  of  Hut; 
thou  art  lord  of  Akert  (i.e.,  the  underworld).  0  grant 
thou  unto  me  a  path,”  etc. 

4.  “Homage  to  thee  in  thy  dominion  over  Tattu; 
the  Ureret  crown  is  stablished  upon  thy  head;  thou 
art  the  One  who  maketh  the  strength  which  protecteth 
himself,  and  thou  dwellest  in  peace  in  Tattu.  0  grant 
thou  unto  me  a  path,”  etc. 

5.  “  Homage  to  thee,  0  lord  of  the  Acacia 3  tree,  the 
Seker  boat 3  is  set  upon  its  sledge  ;  thou  turnest  back 
the  Fiend,  the  worker  of  Evil,  and  thou  causest  the 
Utchat  (i.e.,  the  Eye  of  Horus  or  Ra),  to  rest  upon  its 
seat.  0  grant  thou  unto  me  a  path,”  etc. 

6.  “  Homage  to  thee,  0  thou  who  art  mighty  in 
thine  hour,  thou  great  and  mighty  Prince,  dweller  in 
An-rut-f,4  lord  of  eternity  and  creator  of  everlasting¬ 
ness,  thou  art  the  lord  of  Suten-henen  (i.e.,  Heracleopolis 
Magna).  0  grant,”  etc. 

7.  “  Homage  to  thee,  0  thou  who  restest  upon 

1  This  petition  is  only  written  once,  but  it  is  intended  to  be  repeated 
after  each  of  the  nine  sections  of  the  Litany. 

2  This  tree  was  in  Heliopolis,  and  the  Cat,  i.e.,  the  Sun,  sat  near  it. 
(See  p.  63). 

3  The  ceremony  of  setting  the  Seker  boat  on  its  sledge  was  per¬ 
formed  at  dawn. 

4  The  place  where  nothing  grows— the  underworld. 


68 


A  LITANY. 


Right  and  Truth,  thou  art  lord  of  Abydos,  and  thy 
limbs  are  joined  unto  Ta-tchesert  {i.e.,  the  Holy  Land, 
the  underworld) ;  thou  art  he  to  whom  fraud  and  guile 
are  hateful.  0  grant,”  etc. 

8.  “  Homage  to  thee,  0  thou  who  art  within  thy 
boat,  thou  bringest  Hapi  {i.e.,  the  Nile)  forth  from  his 
source ;  the  light  shineth  upon  thy  body,  and  thou  art 
the  dweller  in  Nekhen.  0  grant,”  etc. 

9.  “  Homage  to  thee,  0  creator  of  the  gods,  thou 
kins  of  the  South  and  of  the  North,  0  Osiris,  victorious 

o 

one,  ruler  of  the  world  in  thy  gracious  seasons ;  thou 
art  the  lord  of  the  celestial  world.  0  grant,”  etc. 

And,  again :  “  Ea  setteth  as  Osiris  with  all  the 
diadems  of  the  di'vine  spirits  and  of  the  gods  of 
Amentet.  He  is  the  one  divine  form,  the  hidden  one 
of  the  Tuat,  the  holy  Soul  at  the  head  of  Amentet, 
Un-nefer,  whose  duration  of  life  is  for  ever  and  ever.”  1 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  help  which  Thoth 
ouve  to  Isis  when  he  provided  her  with  the  words 
which  caused  her  dead  husband  to  live  again,  but  the 
best  summary  of  the  good  deeds  which  this  god 
wrought  for  Osiris  is  contained  in  a  hymn  in  the 
Papyrus  of  Hunefer ,2  where  the  deceased  is  made 
to  say : — 

“  I  have  come  unto  thee,  0  son  of  Nut,  Osiris,  Prince 
of  everlastingness  ;  I  am  in  the  following  of  the  god 
Thoth,  and  I  have  rejoiced  at  everything  which  he 

1  See  Chapters  of  Coming  Forth  by  Day ,  p.  334.  2  Ibid.,  p.  343. 


THOTH  AND  OSIRIS. 


69 


hath  done  for  thee.  He  brought  the  sweet  air  into 
thy  nostrils,  and  life  and  strength  to  thy  beautiful 
face ;  and  the  north  wind  which  cometh  forth  from 
Temu  for  thy  nostrils,  0  lord  of  Ta-tchesert.  He 
made  the  god  Shu  to  shine  upon  thy  body ;  he 
illumined  thy  path  with  rays  of  light;  he  destroyed 
for  thee  the  faults  and  defects  of  thy  members  by  the 
magical  power  of  the  wrords  of  his  mouth ;  he  made 
Set  and  Horus  to  be  at  peace  for  thy  sake  ;  he  de¬ 
stroyed  the  storm-wind  and  the  hurricane ;  he  made 
the  two  combatants  ( [i.e .,  Set  and  Horus)  to  be  gracious 
unto  thee  and  the  two  lands  to  be  at  peace  before  thee ; 
he  did  away  the  wrath  which  was  in  their  hearts,  and 
each  became  reconciled  unto  his  brother  {i.e.,  thyself). 

“  Thy  son  Horus  is  triumphant  in  the  presence  of 
the  full  assembly  of  the  gods,  the  sovereignty  over  the 
world  hath  been  given  unto  him,  and  his  dominion 
extendeth  unto  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth.  The 
throne  of  the  god  Seb  hath  been  adjudged  unto  him, 
together  with  the  rank  which  was  created  by  the  god 
Temu,  and  which  hath  been  stablished  by  decrees 
[made]  in  the  Chamber  of  Archives,  and  hath  been 
inscribed  upon  an  iron  tablet  according  to  the  command 
of  thy  father  Ptah-Tanen  when  he  sat  upon  the  great 
throne.  He  hath  set  his  brother  upon  that  which  the 
god  Shu  beareth  up  {i.e.,  the  heavens),  to  stretch  out 
the  waters  over  the  mountains,  and  to  make  to  spring 
up  that  which  groweth  upon  the  hills,  and  the  grain  (?) 


70  ADDRESS  OF  THOTH  TO  OSIRIS. 

which  shooteth  upon  the  earth,  and  he  giveth  increase 
by  water  and  by  land.  Gods  celestial  and  gods  ter¬ 
restrial  transfer  themselves  to  the  service  of  thy  son 
Horus,  and  they  follow  him  into  his  hall  [where]  a 
decree  is  passed  that  he  shall  be  lord  over  them,  and 
they  do  [his  will]  straightway. 

“  Let  thy  heart  rejoice,  O  lord  of  the  gods,  let  thy 
heart  rejoice  greatly  ;  Egypt  and  the  Eed  Land  are 
at  peace,  and  they  serve  humbly  under  thy  sovereign 
power.  The  temples  are  stablished  upon  their  own 
lands,  cities  and  nomes  possess  securely  the  goods 
which  they  have  in  their  names,  and  we  will  make 
unto  thee  the  divine  offerings  which  we  are  bound 
to  make,  and  offer  sacrifices  in  thy  name  for  ever. 
Acclamations  are  made  in  thy  name,  libations  are 
poured  out  to  thy  ka,  and  sepulchral  meals  [are 
brought  unto  thee]  by  the  spirits  who  are  in  thy 
following,  and  water  is  sprinkled.  ...  on  each  side 
of  the  souls  of  the  dead  in  this  land.  Every  plan  for 
thee  which  hath  been  decreed  by  the  commands  of  Ba 
from  the  beginning  hath  been  perfected.  Now  there¬ 
fore,  0  son  of  Nut,  thou  art  crowned  as  Neb-er-tcher 
is  crowned  at  his  rising.  Thou  livest,  thou  art  stab¬ 
lished,  thou  renewest  thy  youth,  and  thou  art  true 
and  perfect ;  thy  father  Ba  maketh  strong  thy  members, 
and  the  company  of  the  gods  make  acclamations  unto 
thee.  The  goddess  Isis  is  with  thee  and  she  never 
leaveth  thee ;  [thou  art]  not  overthrown  by  thine 


OSIRIS  AND  THE  SECOND  BIRTH.  7 1 

enemies.  The  lords  of  all  lands  praise  thy  beauties, 
even  as  they  praise  Ea  when  he  riseth  at  the  beginning 
of  each  day.  Thou  rises t  up  like  an  exalted  being 
upon  thy  standard,  thy  beauties  lift  up  the  face  [of 
man]  and  make  long  [his]  stride.  The  sovereignty 
of  thy  father  Seb  hath  been  given  unto  thee,  and  the 
goddess  Nut,  thy  mother,  who  gave  birth  to  the  gods, 
brought  thee  forth  as  the  firstborn  of  five  gods,  and 
created  thy  beauties  and  fashioned  thy  members.  Thou 
art  stablished  as  king,  the  white  crown  is  upon  thy 
head,  and  thou  hast  grasped  in  thy  hands  the  crook 
and  whip;  whilst  thou  wert  in  the  womb,  and  liadst 
not  as  yet  come  forth  therefrom  upon  the  earth,  thou 
wert  crowned  lord  of  the  two  lands,  and  the  ‘Atef’ 
crown  of  Ea  was  upon  thy  brow.  The  gods  come 
unto  thee  bowing  low  to  the  ground,  and  they  hold 
thee  in  fear;  they  retreat  and  depart  when  they 
see  thee  with  the  terror  of  Ea,  and  the  victory  of 
thy  Majesty  is  in  their  hearts.  Life  is  with  thee,  and 
offerings  of  meat  and  drink  follow  thee,  and  that  which 
is  thy  due  is  offered  up  before  thy  face.” 

In  one  paragraph  of  another  somewhat  similar 
hymn 1  other  aspects  of  Osiris  are  described,  and  after 
the  words  “  Homage  to  thee,  0  Governor  of  those  who 
are  in  Amentet,”  he  is  called  the  being  who  “giveth 
birth  unto  men  and  women  a  second  time,”  2  i.e.,  “  who 

1  See  Chapters  of  Coming  Forth  by  Day ,  p.  342. 

2  The  words  are  mes  temema  em  nem. 


;  2 


IIORUS  THE  HEIR  OF  OSIRIS. 


maketh  mortals  to  be  born  again.”  As  the  whole 
paragraph  refers  to  Osiris  “  renewing  himself/’  and.  to 
his  making  himself  “  young  like  unto  Ba  each  and 
every  day,”  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead,  that  is  to  say,  their  birth  into  a  new  life, 
is  what  the  writer  means  by  the  second  birth  of  men 
and  women.  From  this  passage  also  we  may  see  that 
Osiris  has  become  the  equal  of  Ba,  and  that  he  has 
passed  from  being  the  god  of  the  dead  to  being  the 
god  of  the  living.  Moreover,  at  the  time  when  the 
above  extracts  were  copied  Osiris  was  not  only  assumed 
to  have  occupied  the  position  which  Ba  formerly  held, 
but  his  son  Horus,  who  was  begotten  after  his  death, 
was,  by  virtue  of  his  victory  over  Set,  admitted 
to  be  the  heir  and  successor  of  Osiris.  And  he  not 
only  succeeded  to  the  “  rank  and  dignity  ”  of  his  father 
Osiris,  but  in  his  aspect  of  “  avenger  of  his  father,” 
he  gradually  acquired  the  peculiar  position  of  inter¬ 
mediary  and  intercessor  on  behalf  of  the  children 
of  men.  Thus  in  the  Judgment  Scene  he  leads  the 
deceased  into  the  presence  of  Osiris  and  makes  an 
appeal  to  his  father  that  the  deceased  may  be  allowed 
to  enjoy  the  benefits  enjoyed  by  all  those  who  are 
“true  of  voice”  and  justified  in  the  judgment.  Such 
an  appeal,  addressed  to  Osiris  in  the  presence  of  Isis, 
from  the  son  born  under  such  remarkable  circum¬ 
stances  was,  the  Egyptian  thought,  certain  of  accept¬ 
ance;  and  the  offspring  of  a  father,  after  the  death 


PRAYER  TO  OSIRIS.  73 

of  whose  body  he  was  begotten,  was  naturally  the  best 
advocate  for  the  deceased. 

But  although  such  exalted  ideas  of  Osiris  and  his 
position  among  the  gods  obtained  generally  in  Egypt 
during  the  XVIIIth  dynasty  (about  B.c.  1600)  there 
is  evidence  that  some  believed  that  in  spite  of  every 
precaution  the  body  might  decay,  and  that  it  was 
necessary  to  make  a  special  appeal  unto  Osiris  if  this 
dire  result  was  to  be  avoided.  The  following  remark¬ 
able  prayer  was  first  found  inscribed  upon  a  linen 
swathing  which  had  enveloped  the  mummy  of 
Thothmes  III.,  but  since  that  time  the  text,  written  in 
hieroglyphics,  has  been  found  inscribed  upon  the  Papy¬ 
rus  of  JVu,1  and  it  is,  of  course,  to  be  found  also  in  the 
late  papyrus  preserved  at  Turin,  which  the  late  Dr. 
Lepsius  published  so  far  back  as  1842.  This  text, 
which  is  now  generally  known  as  Chapter  CLIY  of 
the  Book  of  the  Dead,  is  entitled  “The  Chapter  of 
not  letting  the  body  perish.”  The  text  begins : — 

“Homage  to  thee,  0  my  divine  father  Osiris!  I 
have  come  to  thee  that  thou  mayest  embalm,  yea 
embalm  these  my  members,  for  I  would  not  perish 
and  come  to  an  end,  [but  would  be]  even  like  unto 
my  divine  father  Khepera,  the  divine  type  of  him 
that  never  saw  corruption.  Come,  then,  and  make 
me  to  have  the  mastery  over  my  breath,  0  thou  lord 

1  Brit.  Mub.,  No.  10,477,  sheet  18.  I  have  published  the  text  in 
my  Chapters  of  Coming  Forth  hy  Day ,  pp.  398-402. 


74  THE  decay  of  the  body  described. 

of  the  winds,  who  dost  magnify  those  divine  beings 
who  are  like  unto  thyself.  Stablish  thou  me,  then, 
and  strengthen  me,  0  lord  of  the  funeral  chest.  Grant 
thon  that  I  may  enter  into  the  land  of  everlastingness, 
even  as  it  was  granted  unto  thee,  and  unto  thy  fatliei 
Temu,  0  thou  whose  body  did  not  see  corruption,  and 
who  thyself  never  sawest  corruption.  I  have  never 
wrought  that  which  thou  hatest,  nay,  I  have  uttered 
acclamations  with  those  who  have  loved  thy  KA.  Let 
not  my  body  turn  into  worms,  but  deliver  me  [from 
them]  even  as  thou  didst  deliver  thyself.  I  beseech 
thee,  let  me  not  fall  into  rottenness  as  thou  dost  let 
every  god,  and  every  goddess,  and  every  animal,  and 
every  reptile  to  see  corruption  when  the  soul  hath 
o-one  forth  from  them  after  their  death.  For  when 
the  soul  departeth,  a  man  seeth  corruption,  and  the 
bones  of  his  body  rot  and  become  wholly  loathsome¬ 
ness,  the  members  decay  piecemeal,  the  bones  crumble 
into  an  inert  mass,  the  flesh  turneth  into  foetid  liquid, 
and  he  becometh  a  brother  unto  the  decay  which 
cometh  upon  him.  And  he  turneth  into  a  host  of 
worms,  and  he  becometh  a  mass  of  worms,  and  an 
end  is  made  of  him,  and  he  perisheth  in  the  sight  of 
the  god  Shu  even  as  doth  every  god,  and  every  goddess, 
and  every  feathered  fowl,  and  every  fish,  and  every 
creeping  thing,  and  every  reptile,  and  every  animal, 
and  every  thing  whatsoever.  When  the  worms  see  me 
and  know  me,  let  them  fall  upon  their  bellies,  and 


THE  DECEASED  IDENTIFIED  WITH  KHEPERA.  75 

let  the  fear  of  me  terrify  them ;  and  thus  let  it  be 
with  every  creature  after  [my]  death,  whether  it  be 
animal,  or  bird,  or  fish,  or  worm,  or  reptile.  And  let 
life  arise  out  of  death.  Let  not  decay  caused  by  any 
reptile  make  an  end  [of  me],  and  let  not  them  come 
against  me  in  their  various  forms.  Do  not  thou  give  me 
over  unto  that  slaughterer  who  dwelleth  in  his  torture - 
chamber  (?),  who  killeth  the  members  of  the  body  and 
maketli  them  to  rot,  who  worketh  destruction  upon 
many  dead  bodies,  whilst  he  himself  remaineth  hidden 
and  liveth  by  slaughter ;  let  me  live  and  perform  his 
message,  and  let  me  do  that  which  is  commanded  by 
him.  Give  me  not  over  unto  his  fingers,  and  let  him 
not  gain  the  mastery  over  me,  for  I  am  under  thy 
command,  0  lord  of  the  gods. 

“  Homage  to  thee,  0  my  divine  father  Osiris,  thou 
hast  thy  being  with  thy  members.  Thou  didst  not 
decay,  thou  didst  not  become  worms,  thou  didst  not 
diminish,  thou  didst  not  become  corruption,  thou  didst 
not  putrefy,  and  thou  didst  not  turn  into  worms.” 

The  deceased  then  identifying  himself  with  Khepera, 
the  god  who  created  Osiris  and  his  company  of  gods, 
says : — 

“  I  am  the  god  Khepera,  and  my  members  shall  have 
an  everlasting  existence.  I  shall  not  decay,  I  shall 
not  rot,  I  shall  not  putrefy,  I  shall  not  turn  into 
worms,  and  I  shall  not  see  corruption  under  the  eye 
of  the  god  Shu.  I  shall  have  my  being,  I  shall  have 


;6 


THE  SPIRITUAL  BODY. 


my  being ;  I  shall  live,  I  shall  live ;  I  shall  germinate, 

I  shall  germinate,  I  shall  germinate ;  I  shall  wake  up 
in  peace.  I  shall  not  putrefy ;  my  bowels  shall  not 
perish;  I  shall  not  suffer  injury;  mine  eye  shall  not 
decay;  the  form  of  my  countenance  shall  not  dis¬ 
appear  ;  mine  ear  shall  not  become  deaf ;  my  head  shall 
not  be  separated  from  my  neck  ;  my  tongue  shall  not  be 
carried  away ;  my  hair  shall  not  be  cut  off ;  mine  eye¬ 
brows  shall  not  be  shaved  off,  and  no  baleful  injury  shall 
come  upon  me.  My  body  shall  be  stablished,  and  it  shall 
neither  fall  into  ruin  nor  be  destroyed  on  this  earth.” 

Judging  from  such  passages  as  those  given  above 
we  might  think  that  certain  of  the  Egyptians  expected 
a  resurrection  of  the  physical  body,  and  the  mention 
of  the  various  members  of  the  body  seems  to  make 
this  view  certain.  But  the  body  of  which  the  incorrup¬ 
tion  and  immortality  are  so  strongly  declared  is  the 
sahu,  or  spiritual  body,  that  sprang  into  existence  out 
of  the  physical  body,  which  had  become  transformed 
by  means  of  the  prayers  that  had  been  recited  and 
the  ceremonies  that  had  been  performed  on  the  day 
of  the  funeral,  or  on  that  wherein  it  was  laid  in  the 
tomb.  It  is  interesting  to  notice  that  no  mention  is 
made  of  meat  or  drink  in  the  CLIVth  Chapter,  and 
the  only  thing  which  the  deceased  refers  to  as  necessary 
for  his  existence  is  air,  which  he  obtains  through  the 
god  Temu,  the  god  who  is  always  depicted  in  human 
form ;  the  god  is  here  mentioned  in  his  aspect  of  the 


MUTILATION  OF  THE  BODY  AFTER  DEATH.  77 

night  Sun  as  opposed  to  Ba  the  day  Sun,  and  a 
comparison  of  the  Sun’s  daily  death  with  the  death 
of  the  deceased  is  intended  to  be  made.  The  deposit 
of  the  head  of  the  God-man  Osiris  at  Abydos  has 
already  been  mentioned,  and  the  belief  that  it  was 
preserved  there  was  common  throughout  Egypt.  But 
in  the  text  quoted  above  the  deceased  says,  “  My  head 
shall  not  be  separated  from  my  neck,”  which  seems 
to  indicate  that  he  wished  to  keep  his  body  whole, 
notwithstanding  that  Osiris  was  almighty,  and  could 
restore  the  limbs  and  reconstitute  the  body,  even  as 
he  had  done  for  his  own  limbs  and  body  which  had 
been  hacked  to  pieces  by  Set.  Chapter  XLIII  of  the 
Book  of  the  Dead 1  also  has  an  important  reference 
to  the  head  of  Osiris.  It  is  entitled  “The  Chapter 
of  not  letting  the  head  of  a  man  be  cut  off  from  him 
in  the  underworld,”  and  must  be  of  considerable 
antiquity.  In  it  the  deceased  says  :  “  I  am  the  Great 
One,  the  son  of  the  Great  One ;  I  am  Fire,  and  the 
son  of  the  Fire,  to  whom  was  given  his  head  after 
it  had  been  cut  off.  The  head  of  Osiris  was  not  taken 
away  from  him,  let  not  the  head  of  the  deceased  be 
taken  away  from  him.  I  have  knit  myself  together  (or 
reconstituted  myself) ;  I  have  made  myself  whole  and 
complete;  I  have  renewed  my  youth  ;  I  am  Osiris,  the 
lord  of  eternity.” 

From  the  above  it  would  seem  that,  according  to 
1  See  The  Chapters  of  Coming  Forth  by  Day ,  p.  98. 


78  REASONS  FOR  MUTILATING  THE  BODY. 

one  version  of  the  Osiris  story,  the  head  of  Osiris  was 
not  only  cut  off,  but  that  it  was  passed  through  the 
fire  also  ;  and  if  this  version  be  very  ancient,  as  it 
well  may  be  and  probably  is,  it  takes  us  back  to  pre¬ 
historic  times  in  Egypt  when  the  bodies  of  the  dead 
were  mutilated  and  burned.  Prof.  Wiedemann  thinks  1 
that  the  mutilation  and  breaking  of  the  bodies  of  the 
dead  were  the  results  of  the  belief  that  in  order  to 
make  the  ka,  or  “  double,”  leave  this  earth,  the  body 
to  which  it  belonged  must  be  broken,  and  he  instances 
the  fact  that  objects  of  every  kind  were  broken  at  the 
time  when  they  were  placed  in  the  tombs.  He  traces 
also  a  transient  custom  in  the  prehistoric  graves  of 
Egypt  where  the  methods  of  burying  the  body  whole 
and  broken  into  pieces  seem  to  be  mingled,  for  though 
in  some  of  them  the  body  has  been  broken  into  pieces, 
it  is  evident  that  successful  attempts  have  been  made 
to  reconstitute  it  by  laying  the  pieces  as  far  as  possible 
in  their  proper  places.  And  it  may  be  this  custom 
which  is  referred  to  in  various  places  in  the  Book  of 
the  Dead,  when  the  deceased  declares  that  he  has 
collected  his  limbs  “  and  made  his  body  whole  again,” 
and  already  in  the  Yth  dynasty  King  Teta  is  thus 
addressed — ‘  Pise  up,  0  thou  Teta  !  Thou  hast  received 
thy  head,  thou  hast  knitted  together  thy  bones,2  thou 
hast  collected  thy  members.” 

1  See  J.  de  Morgan,  Etlmographie  Prehistorique ,  p.  210. 

2  Becueil  de  Travaux,  tom,  v.  p,  40  (1.  287). 


PERSISTENCE  OF  OSIRIS  WORSHIP.  79 

The  history  of  Osiris,  the  god  of  the  resurrection, 
has  now  been  traced  from  the  earliest  times  to  the 
end  of  the  period  of  the  rule  of  the  priests  of  Amen 
*  (about  B.c.  900),  by  which  time  Amen-Ba  had  been 
thrust  in  among  the  gods  of  the  underworld,  and 
prayers  were  made,  in  some  cases,  to  him  instead  of 
to  Osiris.  From  this  time  onwards  Amen  maintained 
this  exalted  position,  and  in  the  Ptolemaic  period,  in 
an  address  to  the  deceased  Kerasher  we  read  “  Thy 
face  shineth  before  Ba,  thy  soul  liveth  before  Amen, 
and  thy  body  is  renewed  before  Osiris.”  And  again 
it  is  said,  “  Amen  is  nigh  unto  thee  to  make  thee  to 
live  again.  .  .  .  Amen  cometh  to  thee  having  the 
breath  of  life,  and  he  causeth  thee  to  draw  thy  breath 
within  thy  funeral  house.”  But  in  spite  of  this,  Osiris^ 
kept  and  held  the  highest  place  in  the  minds  of  the 
Egyptians,  from  first  to  last,  as  the  God-man,  the  being 
who  was  both  divine  and  human ;  and  no  foreign 
invasion,  and  no  religious  or  political  disturbances,  and 
no  influence  which  any  outside  peoples  could  bring 
to  bear  upon  them,  succeeded  in  making  them  regard 
the  god  as  anything  less  than  the  cause  and  symbol 
and  type  of  the  resurrection,  and  of  the  life  everlasting. 
For  about  five  thousand  years  men  were  mummified 
in  imitation  of  the  mummied  form  of  Osiris ;  and  they 
went  to  their  graves  believing  that  their  bodies  would 
vanquish  the  powers  of  death,  and  the  grave,  and 
decay,  because  Osiris  had  vanquished  them ;  and  they 


So  ANTHONY’S  DISLIKE  TO  MUMMIFYING. 


had  certain  hope  of  the  resurrection  in  an  immortal, 
eternal,  and  spiritual  body,  because  Osiris  had  risen 
in  a  transformed  spiritual  body,  and  had  ascended 
into  heaven,  where  he  had  become  the  king  and  the 
judge  of  the  dead,  and  had  attained  unto  everlasting 
life  therein.^ 

The  chief  reason  for  the  persistence  of  the  worship 
of  Osiris  in  Egypt  was,  probably,  the  fact  that  it 
promised  both  resurrection  and  eternal  life  to  its 
followers.  '^Eveii  after  the  Egyptians  had  embraced 
Christianity  they  continued  to  mummify  their  dead, 
and  for  long  after  they  continued  to  mingle  the 
attributes  of  their  God  and  the  “  gods  ”  with  those  of 
God  Almighty  and  Christ.  The  Egyptians  of  their 
own  will  never  got  away  from  the  belief  that  the  body 
must  be  mummified  if  eternal  life  was  to  be  assured 
to  the  dead,  but  the  Christians,  though  preaching  the 
same  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  as  the  Egyptians, 
went  a  step  further,  and  insisted  that  there  was  no 
need  to  mummify  the  dead  at  all./  St.  Anthony  the 
Great  besought  his  followers  not  to  embalm  his  body 
and  keep  it  in  a  house,  but  to  bury  it  and  to  tell 
no  man  where  it  had  been  buried,  lest  those  who  loved 
him  should  come  and  draw  it  forth,  and  mummify  it 
as  thev  were  wont  to  do  to  the  bodies  of  those  whom 

V 

they  regarded  as  saints.  “  For  long  past,”  he  said,  “  I 
have  entreated  the  bishops  and  preachers  to  exhort  the 
people  not  to  continue  to  observe  this  useless  custom  ”  ; 


DEATH  OF  OSIRIS  WORSHIP.  8 1 

and  concerning  his  own  body,  he  said,  “  At  the  resur¬ 
rection  of  the  dead  I  shall  receive  it  from  the  Saviour 
incorruptible.”1  The  spread  of  this  idea  gave  the 
art  of  mummifying  its  death-blow,  and  though  from 
innate  conservatism,  and  the  love  of  having  the  actual 
bodies  of  their  beloved  dead  near  them,  the  Egyptians 
continued  for  a  time  to  preserve  their  dead  as  befoi^, 
yet  little  by  little  the  reasons  for  mummifying  were 
forgotten,  the  knowledge  of  the  art  died  out,  the  funeral 
ceremonies  were  curtailed,  the  prayers  became  a  dead 
letter,  and  the  custom  of  making  mummies  became 
obsolete.  '  With  the  death  of  the  art  died  also  the 
belief  in  and  the  worship  of  Osiris,  who  from  being 
the  god  of  the  dead  became  a  dead  god,  and  to  the 
Christians  of  Egypt,  at  least,  his  place  was  filled  by 
Christ,  “  the  firstfruits  of  them  that  slept,”  Whose 
resurrection  and  power  to  grant  eternal  life  were  at 
that  time  being  preached  throughout  most  of  the  known 
world.'  In  Osiris  the  Christian  Egyptians  found  the" 
prototype  of  Christ,  and  in  the  pictures  and  statues 
of  Isis  suckling  her  son  Horus,  they  perceived  the 
prototypes  of  the  Virgin  Mary  and  her  Child.  Never 
did  Christianity  find  elsewhere  in  the  world  a  people 
whose  minds  were  so  thoroughly  well  prepared  to 
receive  its  doctrines  as  the  Egyptians.  ^ 

This  chapter  may  be  fittingly  ended  by  a  few 

1  See  Rosweyde,  Vitae  Patrum ,  p.  59;  Life  of  St.  Anthony ,  by 
Athanasius  (Migne),  Patrologise ,  Ser.  Graec.  tom.  2 G,  col.  972, 


G 


82  SONGS  OF  ISIS  AND  NEPHTHYS. 

extracts  from  the  Souc/s  of  Tsis  ctnd  Ncphthys,  which 
were  sung  in  the  Temple  of  Amen-Ba  at  Thebes  by 
two  priestesses  who  personified  the  two  goddesses.1 

“Hail,  thou  lord  of  the  underworld,  thou  Bull  of 
those  who  are  therein,  thou  Image  of  Ba-Harmachis, 
thou  Babe  of  beautiful  appearance,  come  thou  to  us 
in  peace.  Thou  didst  repel  thy  disasters,  thou  didst 
drive  away  evil  hap ;  Lord,  come  to  us  in  peace. 
0  Un-nefer,  lord  of  food,  thou  chief,  thou  who  art 
of  terrible  majesty,  thou  God,  president  of  the  gods, 
when  thou  dost  inundate  the  land  [all]  things  are 
engendered.  Thou  art  gentler  than  the  gods.  The 
emanations  of  thy  body  make  the  dead  and  the  living 
to  live,  0  thou  lord  of  food,  thou  prince  of  green 
herbs,  thou  mighty  lord,  thou  staff  of  life,  thou  giver 
of  offerings  to  the  gods,  and  of  sepulchial  meals  to 
the  blessed  dead.  Thy  soul  flieth  after  Ba,  thou 
sliinest  at  dawn,  thou  settest  at  twilight,  thou  risest 
every  day ;  thou  shalt  rise  on  the  left  hand  of  Atmu 
for  ever  and  ever.  Thou  art  the  glorious  one,  the 
vicar  of  Ba ;  the  company  of  the  gods  cometh  to  thee 
invoking  thy  face,  the  flame  whereof  reaclieth  unto 
thine  enemies.  We  rejoice  when  thou  gatherest  together 
thy  bones,  and  when  thou  hast  made  whole  thy  body 
daily.  Anubis  cometh  to  thee,  and  the  two  sisters 
(U,  Isis  and  Nephthys)  come  to  thee.  They  have 
obtained  beautiful  things  for  thee,  and  they  gather 

1  See  my  Hieratic  Papyrus  of  Nesi-Amsu  ( Archxologia ,  vol.  lii.) 


SONGS  OF  ISIS  AND  NEPHTHYS. 


83 


together  thy  limbs  for  thee,  and  they  seek  to  put 
together  the  mutilated  members  of  thy  body.  Wipe 
thou  the  impurities  which  are  on  them  upon  our  hair 
and  come  thou  to  us  having  no  recollection  of  that 
which  hath  caused  thee  sorrow.  Come  thou  in  thy 
attribute  of  ‘Prince  of  the  earth/  lay  aside  thy  trepi¬ 
dation  and  be  at  peace  with  us,  0  Lord.  Thou  shalt 
be  proclaimed  heir  of  the  world,  and  the  One  god, 
and  the  ful filler  of  the  designs  of  the  gods.  All  the 
gods  invoke  thee,  come  therefore  to  thy  temple  and 
be  not  afraid.  0  Ea  ( i.e .,  Osiris),  thou  art  beloved  of 
Isis  and  ISTephthys ;  rest  thou  in  thy  habitation  for 
ever.” 


(  84  ) 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  “GODS”  OF  THE  EGYPTIANS. 

Throughout  this  book  we  have  had  to  refer  frequently 
to  the  “  gods  ”  of  Egypt ;  it  is  now  time  to  explain 
who  and  what  they  were.  We  have  already  shown 
how  much  the  monotheistic  side  of  the  Egyptian 
religion  resembles  that  of  modern  Christian  nations, 
and  it  will  have  come  as  a  surprise  to  some  that  a 
people,  possessing  such  exalted  ideas  of  God  as  the 
Egyptians,  could  ever  have  become  the  byword  they 
did  through  their  alleged  worship  of  a  multitude  of 
“  gods  ”  in  various  forms.  It  is  quite  true  that  the 
Egyptians  paid  honour  to  a  number  of  gods,  a  number 
so  large  that  the  list  of  their  mere  names  would  fill 
a  volume,  but  it  is  equally  true  that  the  educated 
classes  in  Egypt  at  all  times  never  placed  the  “gods” 
on  the  same  high  level  as  God,  and  they  never  imagined 
that  their  views  on  this  point  could  be  mistaken.  In 
prehistoric  times  every  little  village  or  town,  every 
district  and  province,  and  every  great  city,  had  its 
own  particular  god ;  we  may  go  a  step  farther,  and 


THE  VILLAGE  GOD. 


85 


say  that  every  family  of  any  wealth  and  position  had 
its  own  god.  The  wealthy  family  selected  some  one 
to  attend  to  its  god,  and  to  minister  unto  his  wants, 
and  the  poor  family  contributed,  according  to  its 
means,  towards  a  common  fund  for  providing  a  dwell¬ 
ing-house  for  the  god,  and  for  vestments,  etc.  But 
the  god  was  an  integral  part  of  the  family,  whether 
rich  or  poor,  and  its  destiny  was  practically  locked 
up  with  that  of  the  family.  The  overthrow  of  the 
family  included  the  overthrow  of  the  god,  and  seasons 
of  prosperity  resulted  in  abundant  offerings,  new  vest¬ 
ments,  perhaps  a  new  shrine,  and  the  like.  The  god 
of  the  village,  although  he  was  a  more  important 
being,  might  be  led  into  captivity  along  with  the 
people  of  the  village,  but  the  victory  of  his  followers 
in  a  raid  or  fight  caused  the  honours  paid  to  him  to 
be  magnified  and  enhanced  his  renown. 

The  gods  of  provinces  or  of  great  cities  were,  of 
course,  greater  than  those  of  villages  and  private 
families,  and  in  the  large  houses  dedicated  to  them, 
i.e.,  temples,  a  considerable  number  of  them,  represented 
by  statues,  would  be  found.  Sometimes  the  attributes 
of  one  god  would  be  ascribed  to  another,  sometimes 
two  or  more  gods  would  be  “  fused  ”  or  united  and 
form  one,  sometimes  gods  were  imported  from  remote 
villages  and  towns  and  even  from  foreign  countries, 
and  occasionally  a  community  or  town  would  repudiate 
its  god  or  gods,  and  adopt  a  brand  new  set  from  some 


86 


GODS  OF  PRE-DYNASTIC  TIMES. 


neighbouring  district.  Thus  the  number  of  the  gods 
was  always  changing,  and  the  relative  position  of 
individual  gods  was  always  changing ;  an  obscure,  and 
almost  unknown,  local  god  to-day  might  through  a 
victory  in  war  become  the  chief  god  of  a  city,  and 
on  the  other  hand,  a  god  worshipped  with  abundant 
offerings  and  great  ceremony  one  month  might  sink 
into  insignificance  and  become  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  a  dead  god  the  next.  But  besides  family  and 
village  gods  there  were  national  gods,  and  gods  of 
rivers  and  mountains,  and  gods  of  earth  and  sky, 
all  of  which  taken  together  made  a  formidable  number 
of  “  divine  ”  beings  whose  good-will  had  to  be  secured, 
and  whose  ill-will  must  be  appeased.  Besides  these, 
a  number  of  animals  as  being  sacred  to  the  gods  were 
also  considered  to  be  “divine,”  and  fear  as  well  as 
love  made  the  Egyptians  add  to  their  numerous  classes 
of  gods. 

The  gods  of  Egypt  whose  names  are  known  to  us 
do  not  represent  all  those  that  have  been  conceived 
by  the  Egyptian  imagination,  for  with  them  as  with 
much  else,  the  law  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest  holds 
good.  Of  the  gods  of  the  prehistoric  man  we  know 
nothing,  but  it  is  more  than  probable  that  some  of 
the  gods  wdio  were  worshipped  in  dynastic  times 
represent,  in  a  modified  form,  the  deities  of  the  savage, 
or  semi-savage,  Egyptian  that  held  their  influence  on 
his  mind  the  longest.  A  typical  example  of  such  a 


T1I0TH  AND  WORDS  OF  POWER.  87 

god  will  suffice,  namely  Tliotli,  whose  original  emblem 
was  the  dog-headed  ape.  In  very  early  times  great 
respect  was  paid  to  this  animal  on  account  of  his 
sagacity,  intelligence,  and  cunning;  and  the  simple- 
minded  Egyptian,  when  he  heard  him  chattering  just 
before  the  sunrise  and  sunset,  assumed  that  he  was 
in  some  way  holding  converse  or  was  intimately 
connected  with  the  sun.  This  idea  clung  to  his  mind, 
and  we  find  in  dynastic  times,  in  the  vignette  repre¬ 
senting  the  rising  sun,  that  the  apes,  who  aie  said 
to  be  the  transformed  openers  of  the  portals  of  heaven, 
form  a  veritable  company  of  the  gods,  and  at  the 
same  time  one  of  the  most  striking  featuies  of  the 
scene.  Thus  an  idea  which  came  into  being  in  the  most 
remote  times  passed  on  from  generation  to  generation 
until  it  became  crystallized  in  the  best  copies  of  the 
Book  of  the  Dead,  at  a  period  when  Egypt  was  at  its 
zenith  of  power  and  glory.  The  peculiar  species  of 
the  dog-headed  ape  which  is  represented  in  statues 
and  on  papyri  is  famous  for  its  cunning,  and  it  was 
the  words  which  it  supplied  to  Thoth,  who  in  turn 
transmitted  them  to  Osiris,  that  enabled  Osiris  to  be 
“  true  of  voice,”  or  triumphant,  over  his  enemies.  It 
is  probably  in  this  capacity,  ie.,  as  the  friend  of  the 
dead,  that  the  dog-headed  ape  appears  seated  upon 
the  top  of  the  standard  of  the  Balance  in  which  the 
heart  of  the  deceased  is  being  weighed  against  the 
feather  symbolic  of  Maat;  for  the  commonest  titles 


88 


LOCAL  AND  NATIONAL  GODS. 


of  the  god  are  “  lord  of  divine  books,”  “  lord  of  divine 
words,”  i.e.,  the  formulae  which  make  the  deceased  to 
be  obeyed  by  friend  and  foe  alike  in  the  next  world. 
In  later  times,  when  Thoth  came  to  be  represented  by 
the  ibis  bird,  his  attributes  were  multiplied,  and  he 
became  the  god  of  letters,  science,  mathematics,  etc. ;  at 
the  creation  he  seems  to  have  played  a  part  not  unlike 
that  of  “  wisdom  ”  which  is  so  beautifully  described 
by  the  writer  of  Proverbs  (see  Chap.  VIII.  vv.  23-31). 

Whenever  and  wherever  the  Egyptians  attempted 
to  set  up  a  system  of  gods  they  always  found  that 
the  old  local  gods  had  to  be  taken  into  consideration, 
and  a  place  had  to  be  found  for  them  in  the  system. 
This  might  be  done  by  making  them  members  of 
triads,  or  of  groups  of  nine  gods,  now  commonly  called 
“  enneads  ”  ;  but  in  one  form  or  other  they  had  to 
appear.  The  researches  made  during  the  last  few 
years  have  shown  that  there  must  have  been  several 
large  schools  of  theological  thought  in  Egypt,  and 
of  each  of  these  the  priests  did  their  utmost  to  proclaim 
the  superiority  of  their  gods.  In  dynastic  times  there 
must  have  been  great  colleges  at  Heliopolis,  Memphis, 
Abydos,  and  one  or  more  places  in  the  Delta,  not 
to  mention  the  smaller  schools  of  priests  which  pro¬ 
bably  existed  at  places  on  both  sides  of  the  Nile  from 
Memphis  to  the  south.  Of  the  theories  and  doctrines 
of  all  such  schools  and  colleges,  those  of  Heliopolis 
have  survived  in  the  completest  form,  and  by  careful 


IDENTITY  OF  TEMU  AND  RA.  89 

examination  of  the  funeral  texts  which  were  inscribed 
on  the  monuments  of  the  kings  of  Egypt  of  the  Vth 
and  YIth  dynasties  we  can  say  what  views  they  held 
about  many  of  the  gods.  At  the  outset  we  see  that 
the  great  god  of  Heliopolis  was  Temu  or  Atmu,  the 
setting  sun,  and  to  him  the  priests  of  that  place 
ascribed  the  attributes  which  rightly  belong  to  Ra, 
the  Sun-god  of  the  day-time.  For  some  reason  or 
other  they  formulated  the  idea  of  a  company  of  the 
gods,  nine  in  number,  which  was  called  the  “great 
company  ( jpaut )  of  the  gods,”  and  at  the  head  of  this 
company  they  placed  the  god  Temu.  In  Chapter 
XYII  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead 1  we  find  the  following 
passage  : — 

“  I  am  the  god  Temu  in  his  rising  ;  I  am  the  only 
One.  I  came  into  being  in  Nu.  I  am  Ra  who  rose 
in  the  beginning.” 

Next  comes  the  question,  “  But  who  is  this  ?  ”  And 
the  answer  is :  “  It  is  Ra  when  at  the  beginning  he  rose 
in  the  city  of  Suten-henen  (Heracleopolis  Magna) 
crowned  like  a  king  in  rising.  The  pillars  of  the 
god  Shu  were  not  as  yet  created  when  he  was  upon 
the  staircase  of  him  that  dwelleth  in  Khemennu 
(Hermopolis  Magna).”  From  these  statements  we 
learn  that  Temu  and  Ra  were  one  and  the  same  god, 
and  that  he  was  the  first  offspring  of  the  god  Nu, 
the  primeval  watery  mass,  out  of  which  all  the  gods 

See  Chapters  of  Coming  Forth  by  Day,  p.  49. 


1 


90 


THE  GODS  AS  NAMES  OF  RA. 


came  into  being.  The  text  continues  :  “  I  am  the  great 
god  Nu  who  gave  birth  to  himself,  and  who  made  his 
names  to  come  into  being  and  to  form  the  company 
of  the  gods.  But  who  is  this  ?  It  is  Ba,  the  creator 
of  the  names  of  his  members  which  came  into  being 
in  the  form  of  the  gods  who  are  in  the  train  of  Ba.” 
And  again :  “  I  am  he  who  is  not  driven  back  among 
the  gods.  But  who  is  this  ?  It  is  Tern,  the  dweller 
in  his  disk,  or  as  others  say,  it  is  Ba  in  his  rising 
in  the  eastern  horizon  of  heaven.  Thus  we  learn 
further  that  Nu  was  self-produced,  and  that  the  gods 
are  simply  the  names  of  his  limbs  ;  but  then  Ba  is 
Nil,  and  the  gods  who  are  in  his  train  or  following  are 
merely  personifications  of  the  names  of  his  own 
members.  He  who  cannot  be  driven  back  among 

the  gods  is  either  Temu  or  Ba,  and  so  we  find  that 

\ 

Hu,  Temu,  and  Ba  are  one  and  the  same  god.  The 
priests  of  Heliopolis  in  setting  Temu  at  the  head  of  their 
company  of  the  gods  thus  gave  Ba,  and  Nu  also,  a 
place  of  high  honour ;  they  cleverly  succeeded  in 
making  their  own  local  god  chief  of  the  company,  but 
at  the  same  time  they  provided  the  older  gods  with 
positions  of  importance.  In  this  way  worshippers 
of  Ba,  who  had  regarded  their  god  as  the  oldest  of 
the  gods,  would  have  little  cause  to  complain  of  the 
introduction  of  Temu  into  the  company  of  the  gods, 
and  the  local  vanity  of  Heliopolis  would  be  gratified. 

But  besides  the  nine  gods  who  were  supposed  to 


THE  COMPANY  OF  THE  GODS.  91 

form  the  “  great  company  ”  of  gods  of  the  city  of 
Heliopolis,  there  was  a  second  group  of  nine  gods 
called  the  “  little  company  ”  of  the  gods,  and  yet  a 
third  group  of  nine  gods,  which  formed  the  least 
company.  Now  although  the  paut  or  company  of  nine 
gods  might  be  expected  to  contain  nine  always,  this 
was  not  the  case,  and  the  number  nine  thus  applied 
is  sometimes  misleading.  There  are  several  passages 
extant  in  texts  in  which  the  gods  of  a  paut  are 
enumerated,  but  the  total  number  is  sometimes  ten 
and  sometimes  eleven.  This  fact  is  easily  explained 
when  we  remember  that  the  Egyptians  deified  the 
various  forms  or  aspects  of  a  god,  or  the  various  phases 
in  his  life.  Thus  the  setting  sun,  called  Temu  or 
Atmu,  and  the  rising  sun,  called  Khepera,  and  the 
mid-day  sun,  called  Ea,  were  three  forms  of  the  same 
god ;  and  if  any  one  of  these  three  forms  was  included 
in  a  paut  or  company  of  nine  gods,  the  other  two 
forms  were  also  included  by  implication,  even  though 
the  paut  then  contained  eleven  instead  of  nine  gods. 
Similarly,  the  various  forms  of  each  god  or  goddess 
of  the  paut  were  understood  to  be  included  in  it, 
however  large  the  total  number  of  gods  might  become. 
We  are  not,  therefore,  to  imagine  that  the  three  com¬ 
panies  of  the  gods  were  limited  in  number  to  9  x  3, 
or  twenty -seven,  even  though  the  symbol  for  god  be 
given  twenty-seven  times  in  the  texts. 

We  have  already  alluded  to  the  great  number  of 


92 


TEMU  AND  SHU. 


gods  who  were  known  to  the  Egyptians,  but  it  will 
be  readily  imagined  that  it  was  only  those  who  were 
thought  to  deal  with  man’s  destiny,  here  and  hereafter, 
who  obtained  the  worship  and  reverence  of  the  people 
of  Egypt.  These  were,  comparatively,  limited  in 
number,  and  in  fact  may  be  said  to  consist  of  the 
members  of  the  great  company  of  the  gods  of  Heliopolis, 
that  is  to  say,  of  the  gods  who  belonged  to  the  cycle 
of  Osiris.  These  may  be  briefly  described  as  follows  : — 

1.  Temu  or  Atmu,  i.e.,  the  “  closer”  of  the  day,  just 
as  PtalT  was  the  “  opener  ”  of  the  day.  In  the  story  of 

— *""* —  ijhW*1"  *lin,|",r 

the  creation  he  declares  that  he  evolved  himself  under 
the  form  of  the  god  Khepera,  and  in  hymns  he  is  said 
to  be  the  “  maker  of  the  gods,”  “  the  creator  of  men,” 
etc.,  and  he  usurped  the  position  of  Ra  among  the  gods 
of  Egypt.  His  worship  must  have  been  already  very 
ancient  at  the  time  of  the  kings  of  the  Vth  dynasty, 
for  his  traditional  form  is  that  of  a  man  at  that  time. 

2.  Siiu  was  the  firstborn  son  of  Temu.  According 
to  one  legend  he  sprang  direct  from  the  god,  and 
according  to  another  the  goddess  Hathor  was  his 
mother;  yet  a  third  legend  makes  him  the  son  of 
Temu  by  the  goddess  Iusaset.  He  it  was  who  made 
his  way  between  the  gods  Seb  and  Hut  and  raised 
up  the  latter  to  form  the  sky,  and  this  belief  is  com¬ 
memorated  by  the  figures  of  this  god  in  which  he 
is  represented  as  a  god  raising  himself  up  from  the 
earth  with  the  sun’s  disk  on  his  shoulders.  As  a 


TEFNUT  AND  SEB. 


93 


power  of  nature  he  typified  the  light,  and,  standing 
on  the  top  of  a  staircase  at  Hermopolis  Magna,1  he 
raised  up  the  sky  and  held  it  up  during  each  day. 
To  assist  him  in  this  work  he  placed  a  pillar  at  each 
of  the  cardinal  points,  and  the  “  supports  of  Shu  ”  are 
thus  the  props  of  the  sky. 

3.  Tefnut  was  the  twin-sister  of  Shu ;  as  a  power 
of  nature  she  typified  moisture  or  some  aspect  of  the 
sun’s  heat,  but  as  a  god  of  the  dead  she  seems  to 
have  been,  in  some  way,  connected  with  the  supply 
of  drink  to  the  deceased.  Her  brother  Shu  was  the 
right  eye  of  Temu,  and  she  was  the  left,  i.e.,  Shu 
represented  an  aspect  of  the  Sun,  and  Tefnut  of  the 
Moon.  The  gods  Temu,  Shu,  and  Tefnut  thus  formed 
a  trinity,  and  in  the  story  of  the  creation  the  god 
Temu  says,  after  describing  how  Shu  and  Tefnut 
proceeded  from  himself,  “  thus  from  being  one  god  I 
became  three.” 

4.  Seb  was  the  son  of  the  god  Shu.  He  is  called 
the  “ Erpa,”  i.e.,  the  “hereditary  chief”  of  the  gods, 
and  the  “  father  of  the  gods,”  these  being,  of  course, 
Osiris,  Isis,  Set,  and  Nephthys.  He  was  originally  the 
god  of  the  earth,  but  later  he  became  a  god  of  the 
dead  as  representing  the  earth  wherein  the  deceased 
was  laid.  One  legend  identifies  him  with  the  goose, 
the  bird  which  in  later  times  was  sacred  to  him,  and 
he  is  often  called  the  “  Great  Cackler,”  in  allusion 

1  See  above,  pp.  69  and  89. 


94 


THE  GODDESS  NUT. 


to  the  idea  that  he  made  the  primeval  egg  from 
which  the  world  came  into  being. 

5.  Nut  was  the  wife  of  Seb  and  the  mother  of  Osiris, 
Isis,  Set,  and  Nephthys.  Originally  she  was  the 
personification  of  the  sky,  and  represented  the  feminine 
principle  which  was  active  at  the  creation  of  the 
universe.  According  to  an  old  view,  Seb  and  Nut 
existed  in  the  primeval  watery  abyss  side  by  side  with 
Shu  and  Tefnut ;  and  later  Seb  became  the  earth  and 
Nut  the  sky.  These  deities  were  supposed  to  unite 
every  evening,  and  to  remain  embraced  until  the  morn¬ 
ing,  when  the  god  Shu  separated  them,  and  set  the 
goddess  of  the  sky  upon  his  four  pillars  until  the 
evening.  Nut  was,  naturally,  regarded  as  the  mother 
of  the  gods  and  of  all  things  living,  and  she  and  her 
husband  Seb  were  considered  to  be  the  givers  of  food, 
not  only  to  the  living  but  also  to  the  dead.  Though 
different  views  were  current  in  Egypt  as  to  the  exact 
location  of  the  heaven  of  the  beatified  dead,  yet  all 
schools  of  thought  in  all  periods  assigned  it  to  some 
region  in  the  sky,  and  the  abundant  allusions  in  the 
texts  to  the  heavenly  bodies — that  is,  the  sun,  moon, 
and  stars — which  the  deceased  dwells  with,  prove  that 
the  final  abode  of  the  souls  ol  the  righteous  was  not 
upon  earth.  The  goddess  Nut  is  sometimes  represented 
as  a  female  along  whose  body  the  sun  travels,  and 
sometimes  as  a  cow;  the  tree  sacred  to  her  was  the 
sycamore. 


OSIRIS  AND  ISIS. 


95 


6.  Osiris  was  the  son  of  Seb  and  Nut,  the  husband 
of  Isis  and  the  father  of  Horus.  The  history  of  this 
god  is  given  elsewhere  in  this  book  so  fully  that  it  is 
only  necessary  to  refer  briefly  to  him.  He  was  held 
to  be  a  man  although  of  divine  origin ;  he  lived  and 
reigned  as  a  king  on  this  earth ;  he  was  treacherously 
murdered  by  his  brother  Set,  and  his  body  was  cut  up 
into  fourteen  pieces,  which  were  scattered  about  Egypt ; 
after  his  death,  Isis,  by  the  use  of  magical  formulae 
.supplied  to  her  by  Thoth,  succeeded  in  raising  him  to 
life,  and  he  begot  a  son  called  Horus ;  when  Horus 
was  grown  up,  he  engaged  in  combat  with  Set,  and 
overcame  him,  and  thus  “avenged  his  father”;  by 
means  of  magical  formulae,  supplied  to  him  by  Thoth, 
Osiris  reconstituted  and  revivified  his  body,  and  became 
the  type  of  the  resurrection  and  the  symbol  of  immor¬ 
tality  ;  he  was  also  the  hope,  the  judge,  and  the  god 
of  the  dead,  probably  even  in  pre-dynastic  times. 
Osiris  was  in  one  aspect  a  solar  deity,  and  originally 
he  seems  to  have  represented  the  sun  after  it  had  set ; 
but  he  is  also  identified  with  the  moon.  In  the 
XVII Ith  dynasty,  however,  he  is  already  the  equal 
of  Ba,  and  later  the  attributes  of  God  and  of  all  the 
“  gods  ”  were  ascribed  to  him. 

7.  Isis  was  the  wife  of  Osiris  and  mother  of  Horus  ; 
as  a  nature  goddess  she  had  a  place  in  the  boat  of  the 
sun  at  the  creation,  when  she  probably  typified  the 
dawn.  By  reason  of  her  success  in  revivifying  her 


9 6  SET  THE  OPPONENT  OF  HORUS. 

husband’s  body  by  means  of  the  utterance  of  magical 
formulae,  she  is  called  the  “lady  of  enchantments.” 
Her  wanderings  in  search  of  her  husband’s  body,  and 
the  sorrow  which  she  endured  in  bringing  forth  and 
rearing  her  child  in  the  papyrus  swamps  of  the  Delta, 
and  the  persecution  which  she  suffered  at  the  hands 
of  her  husband’s  enemies,  form  the  subject  of  many 
allusions  in  texts  of  all  periods.  She  has  various 
aspects,  but  the  one  which  appealed  most  to  the  imagina¬ 
tion  of  the  Egyptians,  was  that  of  “  divine  mother  ”  ; 
in  this  character  thousands  of  statues  represent  her 
seated  and  suckliDg  her  child  Horus  whom  she  holds 
upon  her  knees. 

8.  Set  was  the  son  of  Seb  and  Hut,  and  the  husband 
of  Hephthys.  At  a  very  early  period  he  was  regarded 
as  the  brother  and  friend  of  “  Horus  the  Elder,”  the 
Aroueris  of  the  Greeks,  and  Set  represented  the  night 
whilst  Horus  represented  the  day.  Each  of  these  gods 
performed  many  offices  of  a  friendly  nature  for  the 
dead,  and  among  others  they  set  up  and  held  the  ladder 
by  which  the  deceased  made  his  way  from  this  earth  to 
heaven,  and  helped  him  to  ascend  it.  But,  at  a  later 
period,  the  views  of  the  Egyptians  concerning  Set 
changed,  and  soon  after  the  reign  of  the  kings  called 
“  Seti,”  i.e.,  those  whose  names  were  based  upon  that  of 
the  god,  he  became  the  personification  of  all  evil,  and 
of  all  that  is  horrible  and  terrible  in  nature,  such  as 
the  desert  in  its  most  desolate  form,  the  storm  and  the 


NEPHTHYS,  SISTER  OF  ISIS. 


97 


tempest,  etc.  Set,  as  a  power  of  nature,  was  always 
waging  war  with  Horus  the  Elder,  i.e.,  the  night  did 
battle  with  the  day  for  supremacy ;  both  gods,  however, 
sprang  from  the  same  source,  for  the  heads  of  both  are, 
in  one  scene,  made  to  belong  to  one  body.  When 
Horus,  the  son  of  Isis,  had  grown  up,  he  did  battle  with 
Set,  who  had  murdered  Homs’s  father  Osiris,  and 
vanquished  him ;  in  many  texts  these  two  originally 
distinct  fights  are  confused,  and  the  two  Horus  gods 
also.  The  conquest  of  Set  by  Horus  in  the  first  conflict 
typified  only  the  defeat  of  the  night  by  the  day,  but 
the  defeat  of  Set  in  the  second  seems  to  have  been 
understood  as  the  victory  of  life  over  death,  and  of 
good  over  evil.  The  symbol  of  Set  was  an  animal  with 
a  head  something  like  that  of  a  camel,  but  it  has  not 
yet  been  satisfactorily  identified  ;  figures  of  the  god  are 
uncommon,  for  most  of  them  were  destroyed  by  the 
Egyptians  when  they  changed  their  views  about 
him. 

9.  Nephthys  was  the  sister  of  Isis  and  her  com¬ 
panion  in  all  her  wanderings  and  troubles;  like  her 
she  had  a  place  in  the  boat  of  the  Sun  at  creation,  when 
she  probably  typified  the  twilight  or  very  early  night. 
She  was,  according  to  one  legend,  the  mother  of 
Anubis  by  Osiris,  but  in  the  texts  his  father  is  declared 
to  be  Ka.  In  funeral  papyri,  stelae,  etc.,  she  always 
accompanies  Isis  in  her  ministrations  to  the  dead,  and 
as  she  assisted  Osiris  and  Isis  to  defeat  the  wickedness 


H 


NU  AND  PTAH. 


98 

of  her  own  husband  (Set),  so  she  helped  the  deceased 
to  overcome  the  powers  of  death  and  the  grave. 

Here  then  we  have  the  nine  gods  of  the  divine 
company  of  Heliopolis,  but  no  mention  is  made  of 
Horus,  the  son  of  Isis,  who  played  such  an  important 
part  in  the  history  of  his  father  Osiris,  and  nothing 
is  said  about  Thoth  ;  both  gods  are,  however,  included 
in  the  company  in  various  passages  of  the  text,  and 
it  may  be  that  their  omission  from  it  is  the  result  of 
an  error  of  the  scribe.  We  have  already  given  the 
chief  details  of  the  history  of  the  gods  Horus  and 
Thoth,  and  the  principal  gods  of  the  other  companies 

may  now  be  briefly  named. 

Hu  was  the  “  father  of  the  gods,”  and  progenitor 
of  the  “  great  company  of  the  gods  ” ;  he  was  the 
primeval  watery  mass  out  of  which  all  things  came. 

Ptah  was  one  of  the  most  active  of  the  three  great 
<mds  who  carried  out  the  commands  of  Thoth,  who 

iD 

gave  expression  in  words  to  the  will  of  the  primeval, 
creative  Power  ;  he  was  self-created,  and  was  a  form 
of  the  Sun-god  Ra  as  the  “  Opener  ”  of  the  day.  Prom 
certain  allusions  in  the  Book  of  the  Dead  he  is  known 
to  have  “  opened  the  mouth  ” 1  of  the  gods,  and  it 
is  in  this  capacity  that  he  became  a  god  of  the  cycle 
of  Osiris.  His  feminine  counterpart  was  the  goddess 

1  “  May  the  god  Ptah  open  my  mouth”  ;  “  may  the  god  Shu  open 
my  mouth  with  his  implement  of  iron  wherewdth  he  opened  the 
mouth  of  the  gods  r  (Chap.  XXIII.) 


KHEPERA  THE  CREATOR.  99 

Sekhet,  and  the  third  member  of  the  triad  of  which 
he  was  the  chief  was  Nefer-Temu. 

Ptah-Sekek  is  the  dual  god  formed  by  fusing  Seker, 
the  Egyptian  name  of  the  incarnation  of  the  Apis 
Bull  of  Memphis,  with  Ptali. 

Pt ah- Seker- Ausar  was  a  triune  god  who,  in  brief, 
symbolized  life,  death,  and  the  resurrection. 

Khnemu  was  one  of  the  old  cosmic  gods  who  assisted 
Ptah  in  carrying  out  the  commands  of  Thoth,  who 
gave  expression  in  words  to  the  will  of  the  primeval, 
creative  Power ,  he  is  described  as  “  the  maker  of 
things  which  are,  the  creator  of  things  which  shall 
be,  the  source  of  created  things,  the  father  of  fathers, 
and  the  mother  of  mothers.”  It  was  he  who,  accord¬ 
ing  to  one  legend,  fashioned  man  upon  a  potter’s 
wheel. 

Khepera  was  an  old  primeval  god,  and  the  type 
of  matter  which  contains  within  itself  the  germ  of 
life  which  is  about  to  spring  into  a  new  existence ; 
thus  he  represented  the  dead  body  from  which  the 
spiritual  body  was  about  to  rise.  He  is  depicted  in  the 
form  of  a  man  having  a  beetle  for  a  head,  and  this 
insect  became  his  emblem  because  it  was  supposed 
to  be  self-begotten  and  self-produced.  To  the  present 
day  certain  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Sudan  pound 
the  dried  scarabaeus  or  beetle  and  drink  it  in  water, 
believing  that  it  will  insure  them  a  numerous  progeny. 
The  name  “  Khepera  ”  means  “  he  who  rolls,”  and 


100  RA  THE  SUN  GOD. 

when  the  insect’s  habit  of  rolling  along  its  ball  filled 
with  eggs  is  taken  into  consideration,  the  appropriate¬ 
ness  of  the  name  is  apparent.  As  the  hall  of  eggs  rolls 
along  the  germs  mature  and  burst  into  life ;  and  as 
the  sun  rolls  across  the  sky  emitting  light  and  heat 
and  with  them  life,  so  earthly  things  are  produced 

and  have  their  being  by  virtue  thereof. 

/  i  Ra  was  probably  the  oldest  of  the  gods  worshipped 
I  /in  Egypt,  and  his  name  belongs  to  such  a  remote 
period  that  its  meaning  is  unknown.  He  was  in  all 
periods  the  visible  emblem  of  God,  and  was  the  god 
of  this  earth  to  whom  offerings  and  sacrifices  were 
made  daily ;  time  began  when  Ra  appeared  above  the 
horizon  at  creation  in  the  form  of  the  Sun,  and  the 
life  of  a  man  was  compared  to  his  daily  course  at  a 
very  early  date.  Ra  was  supposed  to  sail  ovei  heaven 
in  two  boats,  the  Atet  or  Matet  boat  in  which  he 
journeyed  from  sunrise  until  noon,  and  the  Sektet 
boat  in  which  he  journeyed  from  noon  until  sunset. 
At  his  rising  he  was  attacked  by  Aggjk  a  mighty 
“  dragon  ”  or  serpent,  the  type  of  evil  and  darkness, 
and  with  this  monster  he  did  battle  until  the  fiery 
darts  which  he  discharged  into  the  body  of  Apep 
scorched  and  burnt  him  up  \  the  fiends  that  were 
in  attendance  upon  this  terrible  foe  were  also  destroyed 
by  fire,  and  their  bodies  were  hacked  in  pieces.  A 
repetition  of  this  story  is  given  In  the  legend  of  the 
ficrht  between  Horus  and  Set,  and  in  both  forms  it 

O  -  „ 


HYMN  TO  RA. 


IOI 


represented  originally  the  fight  which  was  supposed 
to  go  on  daily  between  light  and  darkness.  Later, 
however,  when  Osiris  had  usurped  the  position  of  Ba, 
and  Horus  represented  a  divine  power  who  was  about 
to  avenge  the  cruel  murder  of  his  father,  and  the 
wrong  which  had  been  done  to  him,  the  moral  con¬ 
ceptions  of  right  and  wrong,  good  and  evil,  truth  and 
falsehood  were  applied  to  light  and  darkness,  that  is 
to  say,  to  Horus  and  Set. 

As  Ba  was  the  “  father  of  the  gods,”  it  was  natural 
that  everv  £od  should  represent  some  phase  of  him, 
and  that  he  should  represent  every  god.  A  good 
illustration  of  this  fact  is  afforded  by  a  Hymn  to 
Ba,  a  fine  copy  of  which  is  found  inscribed  on 
the  walls  of  the  sloping  corridor  in  the  tomb  of 
Seti  I.,  about  B.c.  1370,  from  which  we  quote  the 
following : — 

11.  “  Praise  he  unto  thee,  0  Ba,  thou  exalted  Power, 
who  dost  enter  into  the  habitations  of  Ament,  behold 
[thy]  body  is  Temu. 

12.  “  Praise  be  unto  thee,  0  Ba,  thou  exalted  Power, 
who  dost  enter  into  the  hidden  place  of  Anubis,  behold 
[thy]  body  is  Kliepera. 

13.  “Praise  be  unto  thee,  0  Ba,  thou  exalted  Power, 
whose  duration  of  life  is  greater  than  that  of  the  hidden 
forms,  behold  [thy]  body  is  Shu. 

14.  “  Praise  be  unto  thee,  0  Ba,  thou  exalted  Power, 

.  .  .  behold  [thy]  body  is  Tefnut. 


102 


RA  THE  FATHER  OF  THE  GODS. 


15.  “  Praise  be  unto  thee,  0  Ea,  thou  exalted  Power, 
who  bringest  forth  green  things  in  their  season,  behold 
[thy]  body  is  Seb. 

16.  “Praise  be  unto  thee,  0  Ea,  thou  exalted  Power, 
thou  mighty  being  who  dost  judge,  .  .  .  behold  [thy] 
body  is  Nut. 

17.  “  Praise  be  unto  thee,  0  Ea,  thou  exalted  Power, 
the  lord  .  .  .  behold  [thy]  body  is  Isis. 

18.  “  Praise  be  unto  thee,  0  Ea,  thou  exalted  Power, 
whose  head  giveth  light  to  that  which  is  in  front  of 
thee,  behold  [thy]  body  is  Nephthys. 

19.  “Praise  be  unto  thee,  0  Ea,  thou  exalted  Power, 
thou  source  of  the  divine  members,  thou  One,  who 
bringest  into  being  that  which  hath  been  begotten, 
behold  [thy]  body  is  IPorus. 

20.  “Praise  be  unto  thee,  0  Ea,  thou  exalted  Power, 
who  dost  dwell  in  and  illumine  the  celestial  deep, 
behold  [thy]  body  is  Nu.”  1 

In  the  paragraphs  which  follow  Ea  is  identified  with 
a  large  number  of  gods  and  divine  personages  whose 

— TIT--- — -run i  ■  "h*1  ir‘l"  WimiMrinmiiiiiiiinni  miwiniidifflir 

names  are  not  of  such  common  occurrence  in  the  texts 
as  those  given  above,  and  in  one  way  or  another  the 
attributes  of  all  the  gods  are  ascribed  to  him.  At 
the  time  when  the  hymn  was  written  it  is  clear  that 
polytheism,  not  pantheism  as  some  would  have  it, 
was  in  the  ascendant,  and  notwithstanding  the  fact 

1  For  the  text  see  Annales  du  Musfe  Guimet :  Le  Tombeau  de  Seli  1. 
(ed.  Lefebure),  Paris,  18SG,  pi.  v. 


RISE  OF  AMEN  WORSHIP. 


103 


that  the  Theban  god  Amen  was  gradually  being  forced 
to  the  headship  of  the  companies  of  the  gods  of  Egypt, 
we  find  everywhere  the  attempt  being  made  to 
emphasize  the  view  that  every  god,  whether  foreign 
or  native,  was  an  aspect  or  form  of  Ra. 

The  god  Amen  just  referred  to  was  originally  a  local 
god  of  Thebes,  whose  shrine  was  either  founded  or 
rebuilt  as  far  back  as  the  Xllth  dynasty,  about 
B.c.  2500.  This  “  hidden  ”  god,  for  such  is  the  mean¬ 
ing  of  the  name  Amen,  was  essentially  a  god  of  the 
south  of  Egypt,  but  when  the  Theban  kings  vanquished 
their  foes  in  the  north,  and  so  became  masters  of  the 
whole  country,  Amen  became  a  god  of  the  first  im¬ 
portance,  and  the  kings  of  the  XVIIIth,  XIXth,  and 
XXth  dynasties  endowed  his  temples  on  a  lavish 
scale.  The  priests  of  the  god  called  Amen  “  the  king 
of  the  gods/’  and  they  endeavoured  to  make  all  Egypt 
accept  him  as  such,  but  in  spite  of  their  power  they 
saw  that  they  could  not  bring  this  result  about  unless 
they  identified  him  with  the  oldest  gods  of  the  land. 
They  declared  that  he  represented  the  hidden  and 
mysterious  power  which  created  and  sustains  the 
universe,  and  that  the  sun  was  the  symbol  of  this 
power ;  they  therefore  added  his  name  to  that  of  Ra, 
and  in  this  form  he  gradually  usurped  the  attributes 
and  powers  of  Xu,  Khnemu,  Ptah,  Hapi,  and  other 
great  gods.  A  revolt  headed  by  Amen-hetep,  or 
Amenophis  IY.  (about  B.c.  1500),  took  place  against 


104  THE  HERESY  OF  THE  DISK. 

the  supremacy  of  Amen  in  the  middle  of  the  XVIIIth 
dynasty,  but  it  was  unsuccessful.  This  king  hated 
the  god  and  his  name  so  strongly  that  he  changed  his 
own  name  into  that  of  “  Khu-en-Aten,”  the  glory 
of  the  solar  Disk,”  and  ordered  the  name  of  Amen 
to  be  obliterated,  wherever  possible,  on  temples  and 
other  great  monuments  ;  and  this  was  actually  done 
in  many  places.  It  is  impossible  to  say  exactly  what 
the  religious  views  of  the  king  were,  but  it  is  certain 
that  he  wished  to  substitute  the  cult  of  Aten,  a  form 
of  the  Sun-god  worshipped  at  Annu  ( i.e .,  On  or 
Heliopolis)  in  very  ancient  times,  for  that  of  Amen. 
“  Aten  ”  means  literally  the  “  Disk  of  the  Sun,”  and 
though  it  is  difficult  to  understand  at  this  distance 

--  ,v  -  . . .  •  ' 

of  time  in  what  the  difference  between  the  worship 

-  '  -  -  -w-'  ■  ‘  '  -  '  -  -  --  - 

of  Ra  and  the  worship  of  “  Ra  in  his  Disk”  consisted, 
we  may  be  certain  that  there  must  have  been  some 
subtle,  theological  distinction  between  them.  But 
whatever  the  difference  may  have  been,  it  was  sufficient 
to  make  Amenopkis  forsake  the  old  capital  Thebes 
and  withdraw  to  a  place  1  some  distance  to  the  north 
of  that  city,  where  he  carried  on  the  worship  of  his 
beloved  god  Aten.  In  the  pictures  of  the  Aten 
worship  which  have  come  down  to  us  the  god  ^  appears 
in  the  form  of  a  disk  from  which  proceed  a  number  of 
arms  and  hands  that  bestow  life  upon  his  worshippers. 
After  the  death  of  Amenophis  the  cult  of  Aten 

1  The  site  is  marked  by  the  ruins  of  Tell  el-Amarna. 


TITLES  OF  AMEN.  105 

declined,  and  Amen  resumed  his  sway  over  the  minds 
of  the  Egyptians. 

Want  of  space  forbids  the  insertion  here  of  a  full  list 
of  the  titles  of  Amen,  and  a  brief  extract  from  the 
Papyrus  of  the  Princess  Nesi-Khensu 1  must  suffice  to 
describe  the  estimation  in  which  the  god  was  held 
about  B.c.  1000.  In  this  Amen  is  addressed  as  “  the 
holy  god,  the  lord  of  all  the  gods,  Amen-Ea,  the  lord 
of  the  thrones  of  the  world,  the  prince  of  Apt  ( ie ., 
Karnak),  the  holy  soul  who  came  into  being  in  the 
beginning,  the  great  god  who  liveth  by  right  and  truth, 
the  first  ennead  who  gave  birth  unto  the  other  two 
enneads,2  the  being  in  whom  every  god  existeth,  the 
One  of  One,  the  creator  of  the  things  which  came  into 
being  when  the  earth  took  form  in  the  beginning,  whose 
births  are  hidden,  whose  forms  are  manifold,  and  whose 
growth  cannot  be  known.  The  holy  Form,  beloved 
and  terrible  and  mighty  .  .  .  the  lord  of  space,  the 
mighty  One  of  the  form  of  Khepera,  who  came  into 
existence  through  Khepera,  the  lord  of  the  form  of 
Khepera;  when  he  came  into  being  nothing  existed 
except  himself.  He  shone  upon  the  earth  from  primeval 
time,  he  the  Disk,  the  prince  of  light  and  radiance.  .  .  . 
When  this  holy  god  moulded  himself,  the  heavens  and 
the  earth  were  made  by  his  heart  (or  mind).  ...  He 

1  For  a  hieroglyphic  transcript  of  the  hieratic  text,  see  Maspero, 
Mfmoires ,  tom.  i.,  p.  594  ff. 

2  I.e.,  the  great,  the  little,  and  the  least  companies  of  the  gods  ; 
each  company  ( paut )  contained  nine  gods. 


io 6  AMEN  THE  ONE  OF  ONE. 

is  the  Disk  of  the  Moon,  the  beauties  whereof  pervade 
the  heavens  and  the  earth,  the  untiring  and  beneficent 
king  whose  will  germinatetli  from  rising  to  setting, 
from  whose  divine  eyes  men  and  women  come  forth, 
and  from  whose  mouth  the  gods  do  come,  and  [by 
whom]  food  and  meat  and  drink  are  made  and  pro¬ 
vided,  and  [by  whom]  the  things  which  exist  are 
created.  He  is  the  lord  of  time,  and  he  traverseth 
eternity ;  he  is  the  aged  one  who  reneweth  his 
youth.  ...  He  is  the  Being  who  cannot  be  known, 
and  he  is  more  hidden  than  all  the  gods.  ...  He 
giveth  long  life  and  multiplieth  the  years  of  those  who 
are  favoured  by  him,  he  is  the  gracious  protector  of 
him  whom  he  setteth  in  his  heart,  and  he  is  the 
fashioner  of  eternity  and  everlastingness.  He  is  the 
king  of  the  .North  and  of  the  South,  Amen-Ba,  king 
of  the  gods,  the  lord  of  heaven,  and  of  earth,  and  of 
the  waters  and  of  the  mountains,  with  whose  coming 
into  being  the  earth  began  its  existence,  the  mighty 
one,  more  princely  than  all  the  gods  of  the  first 
company.” 

In  the  above  extract,  it  will  be  noticed  that  Amen 
is  called  the  “  One  of  One,”  or  the  “  One  One,”  a  title 
which  has  been  explained  as  having  no  reference  what¬ 
ever  to  the  unity  of  God  as  understood  in  modern  times  : 
but  unless  these  words  are  intended  to  express  the  idea 
of  unity,  what  is  their  meaning  ?  It  is  also  said  that 
he  is  “  without  second,”  and  thus  there  is  no  doubt 


THE  CHILDREN  OF  HORUS. 


107 


whatever  that  when  the  Egyptians  declared  their  god 
to  be  One,  and  without  a  second,  they  meant  precisely 
what  the  Hebrews  and  Arabs  meant  when  they  declared 
their  God  to  be  One.1  Such  a  God  was  an  entirely 
different  Being  from  the  personifications  of  the  powers 
of  nature  and  the  existences  which,  for  want  of  a  better 
name,  have  been  called  “gods.” 

But,  besides  Ra,  there  existed  in  very  early  times  a 
god  called  Horus,  whose  symbol  was  the  hawk,  which, 
it  seems,  was  the  first  living  thing  worshipped  by  the 
Egyptians ;  Horus  was  the  Sun-god,  like  Ra,  and  in 
later  times  was  confounded  with  Horus  the  son  of 
Isis.  The  chief  forms  of  Horus  given  in  the  texts 
are:  (1)  Heru-ur  (Aroueris),  (2)  Heru-merti,  (3) 
Heru-nub,  (4)  Heru-khent-khat,  (5)  Heru-khent- 
an-maa,  (6)  Heru-khuti,  (7)  HERU-SAM-TAUI,  (8) 
Heru-hekennu,  (9)  Heru-Behutet.  Connected  with 
one  of  the  forms  of  Horus,  originally,  were  the  four 
gods  of  the  cardinal  points,  or  the  “four  spirits  of 
Horus,”  who  supported  heaven  at  its  four  corners  ;  their 
names  were  Hapi,  Tuamutef,  Amset,  and  Qebiisennuf, 
and  they  represented  the  north,  east,  south,  and  west 
respectively.  The  intestines  of  the  dead  were  embalmed 
and  placed  in  four  jars,  each  being  under  the  protection 
of  one  of  these  four  gods.  Other  important  gods  of 
the  dead  are :  (1)  Anubis,  the  son  of  Ra  or  Osiris,  who 
presided  over  the  abode  of  the  dead,  and  with  Ap-uat 
1  See  Deut.,  vi.  4  ;  and  Koran ,  chapter  cxii. 


10S  MAAT  AND  HATHOR. 

shared  the  dominion  of  the  “  funeral  mountain  ;  the 
symbol  of  each  of  these  gods  is  a  jackal.  (2)  Hu  and 
Sa,  the  children  of  Temu  or  Ba,  who  appear  in  the 
boat  of  the  sun  at  the  creation,  and  later  in  the  Judg¬ 
ment  Scene.  (3)  The  goddess  Maat,  who  was  asso¬ 
ciated  with  Thoth,  Ptah,  and  Khnemu  in  the  work  of 
creation;  the  name  means  “straight/*  hence  what  is 
right,  true,  truth,  real,  genuine,  upright,  righteous,  just, 
steadfast,  unalterable,  and  the  like.  (4)  The  goddess 
Het-Hert  (Hathor),  i.e.,  the  “  house  of  Horus,”  which 
was  that  part  of  the  sky  where  the  sun  rose  and  set. 
The  sycamore  tree  was  sacred  to  her,  and  the  deceased 
prays  to  be  fed  by  her  with  celestial  food  from  out  of  it 
(5)  The  goddess  Meh-uet,  who  represented  that  portion 
of  the  sky  in  which  the  sun  takes  his  daily  course  ; 
here  it  was,  according  to  the  view  held  at  one  peiiod 
at  least,  that  the  judgment  of  the  deceased  was  sup¬ 
posed  to  take  place.  (6)  Neith,  the  mother  of  Sebek, 
who  was  also  a  goddess  of  the  eastern  portion  of  the 
sky.  (7)  Sekhet  and  Bast,  who  are  represented  with 
the  heads  of  a  lion  and  a  cat,  and  who  were  symbols 
of  the  destroying,  scorching  power  of  the  sun,  and  of  the 
gentle  heat  thereof,  respectively.  (8)  Serq,  who  was  a 
form  of  Isis.  (9)  Ta-urt  (Thoueris),  who  was  the 
genetrix  of  the  gods.  (10)  Uatchet,  who  was  a  form 
of  Hathor,  and  who  had  dominion  over  the  northern 
sky,  just  as  Nekhebet  was  mistress  of  the  southern 
sky.  (11)  Neheb-ka,  who  was  a  goddess  who  possessed 


SEBAK,  HAPI,  AND  AMSU.  IO9 

magical  powers,  and  in  some  respects  resembled  Isis  in 
her  attributes.  (12)  Sebak,  who  was  a  form  of  the 
Sun-god,  and  was  in  later  times  confounded  with  Sebak, 
or  Sebek,  the  friend  of  Set.  (13)  Amsu  (or  Min  or 
Khem),  who  was  the  personification  of  the  generative 
and  reproductive  powers  of  nature.  (14)  Beb  or  Baba, 
who  was  the  “  firstborn  son  of  Osiris.”  (15)  Hapi,  who 
was  the  god  of  the  Nile,  and  with  whom  most  of  the 
great  gods  were  identified. 

The  names  of  the  beings  who  at  one  time  or  another 
were  called  “  gods  ”  in  Egypt  are  so  numerous  that 
a  mere  list  of  them  would  fill  scores  of  pages,  and 
in  a  work  of  this  kind  would  be  out  of  place.  The 
reader  is,  therefore,  referred  to  Lanzone’s  Mitologia 
JEgizia,  where  a  considerable  number  are  enumerated 
and  described. 


(  no  ) 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  JUDGMENT  OF  THE  DEAD. 

The  belief  that  the  deeds  done  in  the  body  would 
be  subjected  to  an  analysis  and  scrutiny  by  the  divine 
powers  after  the  death  of  a  man  belongs  to  the  earliest 
period  of  Egyptian  civilization,  and  this  belief  remained 
substantially  the  same  in  all  generations.  Though 
we  have  no  information  as  to  the  locality  where  the 
Last  Judgment  took  place,  or  whether  the  Egyptian 
soul  passed  into  the  judgment-hall  immediately  after 
the  death  of  the  body,  or  after  the  mummification  was 
ended  and  the  body  was  deposited  in  the  tomb,  it  is 
quite  certain  that  the  belief  in  the  judgment  was  as 
deeply  rooted  in  the  Egyptians  as  the  belief  in 
immortality.  There  seems  to  have  been  no  idea  of 
a  general  judgment  when  all  those  who  had  lived 
in  the  world  should  receive  their  reward  for  the  deeds 
done  in  the  body  ;  on  the  contrary,  all  the  evidence 
available  goes  to  show  that  each  soul  was  dealt  with 
individually,  and  was  either  permitted  to  pass  into 
the  kingdom  of  Osiris  and  of  the  blessed,  or  was 
destroyed  straightway.  Certain  passages  in  the  texts 


THE  EGYPTIAN  UNDERWORLD.  Ill 

seem  to  suggest  the  idea  of  the  existence  of  a  place 
for  departed  spirits  wherein  the  souls  condemned  in 
the  judgment  might  dwell,  but  it  must  be  remembered 
that  it  was  the  enemies  of  Ba,  the  Sun-god,  that 
inhabited  this  region  ;  and  it  is  impossible  to  imagine 
that  the  divine  powers  who  presided  over  the  judgment 
would  permit  the  souls  of  the  wicked  to  live  after 
they  had  been  condemned  and.  to  become  enemies  of 
those  who  were  pure  and  blessed.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  we  attach  any  importance  to  the  ideas  of  the  Copts 
upon  this  subject,  and  consider  that  they  represent 
ancient  beliefs  which  they  derived  from  the  Egyptians 
traditionally,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  Egyptian 
underworld  contained  some  region  wherein  the  souls 
of  the  wicked  were  punished  for  an  indefinite  period. 
The  Coptic  lives  of  saints  and  martyrs  are  full  of 
allusions  to  the  sufferings  of  the  damned,  but  whether 
the  descriptions  of  these  are  due  to  imaginings  of  the 
mind  of  the  Christian  Egyptian  or  to  the  bias  of  the 
scribe’s  opinions  cannot  always  be  said.  When  we 
consider  that  the  Coptic  hell  was  little  more  than 
a  modified  form  of  the  ancient  Egyptian  Amenti,  or 
Amentet,  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  it  was  the  name 
of  the  Egyptian  underworld  only  which  was  borrowed, 
and  that  the  ideas  and  beliefs  concerning  it  which 
were  held  by  the  ancient  Egyptians  were  not  at  the 
6ame  time  absorbed.  Some  Christian  writers  are  most 
minute  in  their  classification  of  the  wicked  in  hell, 


1 12 


PISENTIOS  TALKS  WITH  A  MUMMY. 


as  w6  may  sgg  from  the  following  extract  fiom  the 
life  of  Pisentios,1  Bishop  of  Keft,  in  the  Yllth  century 
of  our  era.  The  holy  man  had  taken  refuge  in  a 
tomb  wherein  a  number  of  mummies  had  been  piled 
up,  and  when  he  had  read  the  list  of  the  names  of 
the  people  who  had  been  buried  there  he  gave  it  to 
his  disciple  to  replace.  Then  he  addressed  his  disciple 
and  admonished  him  to  do  the  work  of  God  with 
diligence,  and  warned  him  that  every  man  must 
become  even  as  were  the  mummies  which  lay  before 
them.  “ And  some,”  said  he,  “whose  sins  have  been 
many  are  now  in  Amenti,  others  are  in  the  outer 
darkness,  others  are  in  pits  and  ditches  filled  with 
fire,  and  others  are  in  the  river  of  fire:  upon  these 
last  no  one  hath  bestowed  rest.  And  others,  likewise, 
are  in  a  place  of  rest,  by  reason  of  their  good  works. 
When  the  disciple  had  departed,  the  holy  man  began 
to  talk  to  one  of  the  mummies  who  had  been  a  native 
of  the  town  of  Erment,  or  Armant,  and  whose  father 
and  mother  had  been  called  Agricolaos  and  Eustathia. 
He  had  been  a  worshipper  of  Poseidon,  and  had  never 
heard  that  Christ  had  come  into  the  world.  “  And,” 
said  he,  “woe,  woe  is  me  because  I  was  born  into 
the  world.  Why  did  not  my  mother’s  womb  become 
my  tomb  ?  When  it  became  necessary  for  me  to  die, 
the  Kosmokrator  angels  were  the  first  to  come  round 
about  me,  and  they  told  me  of  all  the  sins  which 
1  Ed.  Amelineau,  Paris,  1887,  p.  144  f. 


THE  TORTURES  OF  HELL.  113 

I  had  committed,  and  they  said  unto  me,  ‘Let  him 
that  can  save  thee  from  the  torments  into  which  thou 
shalt  be  cast  come  hither.’  And  they  had  in  their 
hands  iron  knives,  and  pointed  goads  which  were  like 
unto  sharp  spears,  and  they  drove  them  into  my  sides 
and  gnashed  upon  me  with  their  teeth.  When  a 
little  time  afterwards  my  eyes  were  opened  I  saw 
death  hovering  about  in  the  air  in  its  manifold  forms, 
and  at  that  moment  angels  who  were  without  pity 
came  and  dragged  my  wretched  soul  from  my  body, 
and  having  tied  it  under  the  form  of  a  black  horse  they 
led  me  away  to  Amenti.  Woe  be  unto  every  sinner 
like  unto  myself  who  hath  been  born  into  the  world  ! 
0  my  master  and  father,  I  was  then  delivered  into  the 
hands  of  a  multitude  of  tormentors  who  were  without 
pity  and  who  had  each  a  different  form.  Oh,  what 
a  number  of  wild  beasts  did  I  see  in  the  way !  Oh, 
what  a  number  of  powers  were  there  that  inflicted 
punishment  upon  me !  And  it  came  to  pass  that 
when  I  had  been  cast  into  the  outer  darkness,  I  saw 
a  great  ditch  which  was  more  than  two  hundred  cubits 
deep,  and  it  was  filled  with  reptiles ;  each  reptile  had 
seven  heads,  and  the  body  of  each  was  like  unto  that 
of  a  scorpion.  In  this  place  also  lived  the  Great 
Worm,  the  mere  sight  of  which  terrified  him  that 
looked  thereat.  In  his  mouth  he  had  teeth  like  unto 
iron  stakes,  and  one  took  me  and  threw  me  to  this 
Worm  which  never  ceased  to  eat ;  then  immediately 


1 


THE  OUTER  DARKNESS. 


1 14 

all  the  [other]  beasts  gathered  together  near  him,  and 
when  he  had  filled  his  mouth  [with  my  flesh],  all  the 
beasts  who  were  round  about  me  filled  theirs.’  In 
answer  to  the  question  of  the  holy  man  as  to  whethei 
he  had  enjoyed  any  rest  or  period  without  suffering, 
the  mummy  replied:  “Yea,  0  my  father,  pity  is 
shown  unto  those  who  are  in  torment  every  Saturday 
and  every  Sunday.  As  soon  as  Sunday  is  over  we 
are  cast  into  the  torments  which  we  deserve,  so  that 
we  may  forget  the  years  which  we  have  passed  in 
the  world ;  and  as  soon  as  we  have  forgotten  the 
grief  of  this  torment  we  are  cast  into  another  which 
is  still  more  grievous.” 

Now,  it  is  easy  to  see  from  the  above  description  of 
the  torments  which  the  wicked  were  supposed  to  suffer, 
that  the  writer  had  in  his  mind  some  of  the  pictures 
with  which  we  are  now  familiar,  thanks  to  the  excava¬ 
tion  of  tombs  which  has  gone  on  in  Egypt  during  the 
last  few  years ;  and  it  is  also  easy  to  see  that  he,  in 
common  with  many  other  Coptic  writers,  misunderstood 
the  purport  of  them.  The  outer  darkness,  i.e .,  the 
blackest  place  of  all  in  the  underworld,  the  river  of 
fire,  the  pits  of  fire,  the  snake  and  the  scorpion,  and 
such  like  things,  all  have  their  counterparts,  or  rather 
originals,  in  the  scenes  which  accompany  the  texts 
which  describe  the  passage  of  the  sun  through  the 
underworld  during  the  hours  of  the  night.  Having 
once  misunderstood  the  general  meaning  of  such  scenes, 


THE  SAGE  HERUTATAF.  1 1 5 

it  was  easy  to  convert  the  foes  of  Ea,  the  Sun-god, 
into  the  souls  of  the  damned,  and  to  look  upon  the 
burning  up  of  such  foes — who  were  after  all  only  certain 
powers  of  nature  personified  —  as  the  well-merited 
punishment  of  those  who  had  done  evil  upon  the  earth. 
How  far  the  Copts  reproduced  unconsciously  the  views 
which  had  been  held  by  their  ancestors  for  thousands 
of  years  cannot  be  said,  but  even  after  much  allowance 
has  been  made  for  this  possibility,  there  remains  still 
to  be  explained  a  large  number  of  beliefs  and  views 
which  seem  to  have  been  the  peculiar  product  of  the 
Egyptian  Christian  imagination. 

It  has  been  said  above  that  the  idea  of  the  judgment 
of  the  dead  is  of  very  great  antiquity  in  Egypt ;  indeed, 
it  is  so  old  that  it  is  useless  to  try  to  ascertain  the 
date  of  the  period  when  it  first  grew  up.  In  the 
earliest  religious  texts  known  to  us,  there  are  indica¬ 
tions  that  the  Egyptians  expected  a  judgment,  but  they 
are  not  sufficiently  definite  to  argue  from  ;  it  is  certainly 
doubtful  if  the  judgment  was  thought  to  be  as  thorough 
and  as  searching  then  as  in  the  later  period.  As  far 
back  as  the  reign  of  Men-kau-Ea,  the  Mycerinus  of 
the  Greeks,  about  B.c.  3600,  a  religious  text,  which 
afterwards  formed  chapter  30b  of  the  Book  of  the 
Dead,  was  found  inscribed  on  an  iron  slab,  in  the  hand¬ 
writing  of  the  god  Thoth,  by  the  royal  son  or  prince 
Herutataf.1  The  original  purpose  of  the  composition 

1  See  Chapters  of  Coming  Forth,  by  Day,  Translation,  p.  80. 


II 6  ANTIQUITY  OF  RELIGIOUS  TEXTS. 

of  this  text  cannot  be  said,  but  there  is  little  doubt  that 
it  was  intended  to  benefit  the  deceased  in  the  judgment, 
and,  if  we  translate  its  title  literally,  it  was  intended 
to  prevent  his  heart  from  “  falling  away  from  him  in 
the  underworld.’’  In  the  first  part  of  it  the  deceased, 
after  adjuring  his  heart,  says,  "  May  naught  stand  up 
to  oppose  me  in  the  judgment;  may  there  be  no 
opposition  to  me  in  the  presence  of  the  sovereign 
princes ;  may  there  be  no  parting  of  thee  from  me  in 
the  presence  of  him  that  keepeth  the  Balance  !  .  .  . 
May  the  officers  of  the  court  of  Osiris  (in  Egyptian 
Shenit),  who  form  the  conditions  of  the  lives  of  men, 
not  cause  my  name  to  stink !  Let  [the  judgment]  be 
satisfactory  unto  me,  let  the  hearing  be  satisfactory 
unto  me,  and  let  me  have  joy  of  heart  at  the  weighing 
of  words.  Let  not  that  which  is  false  be  uttered  against 
me  before  the  Great  God,  the  Lord  of  Amentet. 

Now,  although  the  papyrus  upon  which  this  state¬ 
ment  and  prayer  are  found  was  written  about  two 
thousand  years  after  Men-kau-Ba  reigned,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  they  were  copied  from  texts  which  were 
themselves  copied  at  a  much  eailiei  peiiod,  and  that 
the  story  of  the  finding  of  the  text  inscribed  upon  an 
iron  slab  is  contemporary  with  its  actual  discovery  by 
Herutataf.  It  is  not  necessary  to  inquire  here  whether 
the  word  “  find  ”  (in  Egyptian  qem)  means  a  genuine 
discovery  or  not,  but  it  is  clear  that  those  who  had 
the  papyrus  copied  saw  no  absurdity  or  impropriety 


THE  DECEASED  AND  HIS  HEART.  1 1 7 

in  ascribing  the  text  to  the  period  of  Men-kau-Ba, 
Another  text,  which  afterwards  also  became  a  chapter 
of  the  Book  of  the  Dead,  under  the  title  "  Chapter  of 
not  letting  the  heart  of  the  deceased  be  driven  away 
from  him  in  the  underworld,”  was  inscribed  on  a  coffin 
of  the  Xltli  dynasty,  about  B.c.  2500,  and  in  it  we 
have  the  following  petition :  “  May  naught  stand  up 
to  oppose  me  in  judgment  in  the  presence  of  the  lords 
of  the  trial  (literally,  ‘  lords  of  things  ’)  ;  let  it  not  be 
said  of  me  and  of  that  which  I  have  done,  ‘  He  hath 
done  deeds  against  that  which  is  very  right  and  true  ’ ; 
may  naught  be  against  me  in  the  presence  of  the 
Great  God,  the  Lord  of  Amentet.” 1  From  these 
passages  we  are  right  in  assuming  that  before  the  end 
of  the  IArth  dynasty  the  idea  of  being  “  weighed  in  the 
balance”  was  already  evolved;  that  the  religious 
schools  of  Egypt  had  assigned  to  a  god  the  duty  of 
watching  the  balance  when  cases  were  being  tried ; 
that  this  weighing  in  the  balance  took  place  in  the 
presence  of  the  beings  called  Shenit,  who  were  believed 
to  control  the  acts  and  deeds  of  men ;  that  it  was 
thought  that  evidence  unfavourable  to  the  deceased 
might  be  produced  by  his  foes  at  the  judgment ;  that 
the  weighing  took  place  in  the  presence  of  the  Great 
God,  the  Lord  of  Amentet ;  and  that  the  heart  of  the 
deceased  might  fail  him  either  physically  or  morally. 
The  deceased  addresses  his  heart,  calling  it  his  “  mother,” 

1  Chapters  of  Coming  Forth  by  Day ,  p.  78. 


II 8  THE  GOD  KHNEMU. 

and  next  identifies  it  with  his  ha  or  double,  coupling 
the  mention  of  the  ha  with  the  name  of  the  god 
Khnemu :  these  facts  are  exceedingly  important,  for 
they  prove  that  the  deceased  considered  his  heart  to 
he  the  source  of  his  life  and  being,  and  the  mention  of 
the  god  Khnemu  takes /the  date  of  the  composition 
back  to  a  period  coaeval  with  the  beginnings  of  religious 
thought  in  Egypt.  It  was  the  god  Khnemu  who 
assisted  Thoth  in  performing  the  commands  of  God  at 
the  creation,  and  one  very  interesting  sculpture  at 
Philte  shows  Khnemu  in  the  act  of  fashioning  man 
upon  a  potter’s  wheel.  The  deceased,  in  mentioning 
Khnemu’s  name,  seems  to  invoke  his  aid  in  the  judg¬ 
ment  as  fashioner  of  man  and  as  the  being  who  is  in 
some  respects  responsible  for  the  manner  of  his  life 
upon  earth. 

In  Chapter  30a  there  is  no  mention  made  of  the 
“  guardian  of  the  balance,”  and  the  deceased  says, 
“  May  naught  stand  up  to  oppose  me  in  judgment  in 
the  presence  of  the  lords  of  things  !  ”  The  “  lords  of 
things  ”  may  be  either  the  “  lords  of  creation,”  i.e.,  the 
great  cosmic  gods,  or  the  “  lords  of  the  affairs  [of  the 
hall  of  judgment],”  i.e.,  of  the  trial.  In  this  chapter 
the  deceased  addresses  not  Khnemu,  but  “  the  gods 
who  dwell  in  the  divine  clouds,  and  who  are  exalted 
by  reason  of  their  sceptres,”  that  is  to  say,  the  four 
gods  of  the  cardinal  points,  called  Mestha,  Hapi 
Tuamutef,  and  Qebhsennuf,  who  also  presided  over  the 


THE  DECEASED  AND  HIS  HEART.  119 

chief  internal  organs  of  the  human  body.  Here,  again, 
it  seems  as  if  the  deceased  was  anxious  to  make  these 
gods  in  some  way  responsible  for  the  deeds  done  by 
him  in  his  life,  inasmuch  as  they  presided  over  the 
organs  that  were  the  prime  movers  of  his  actions. 
I11  any  case,  he  considers  them  in  the  light  of  inter¬ 
cessors,  for  he  beseeches  them  to  u  speak  fair  words 
unto  Ba”  on  his  behalf,  and  to  make  him  to  prosper 
before  the  goddess  Neliebka.  In  this  case,  the  favoui 
of  Ba,  the  Sun-god,  the  visible  emblem  of  the 
almighty  and  eternal  God,  is  sought  for,  and  also 
that  of  the  serpent  goddess,  whose  attributes  are  not 
yet  accurately  defined,  but  who  has  much  to  do  with 
the  destinies  of  the  dead.  No  mention  whatever  is 
made  of  the  Lord  of  Amentet — Osiris. 

Before  we  pass  to  the  consideration  of  the  manner 
in  which  the  judgment  is  depicted  upon  the  finest 
examples  of  the  illustrated  papyri,  reference  must  be 
made  to  an  interesting  vignette  in  the  papyri  of 
Nebseni 1  and  Amen-neb.2  In  both  of  these  papyri  we 
see  a  figure  of  the  deceased  himself  being  weighed  in 
the  balance  against  his  own  heart  in  the  presence  of 
the  god  Osiris.  It  seems  probable  that  a  belief  was 
current  at  one  time  in  ancient  Lgypt  concerning  the 
possibility  of  the  body  being  weighed  against  the  heart, 
with  the  view  of  finding  out  if  the  former  had  obeyed 
the  dictates  of  the  latter;  be  that  as  it  may,  however, 
1  British  Museum,  No.  9900.  2  British  Museum,  No.  9964. 


120  ANTIQUITY  OF  BELIEF  IN  A  JUDGMENT. 

it  is  quite  certain  that  this  remarkable  variant  of  the 
vignette  of  Chapter  30b  had  some  special  meaning, 
and,  as  it  occurs  in  two  papyri  which  date  from  the 
XVIIIth  dynasty,  we  are  justified  in  assuming  that  it 
represents  a  belief  belonging  to  a  much  older  period. 
The  judgment  here  depicted  must,  in  any  case,  be 
different  from  that  which  forms  such  a  striking  scene 
in  the  later  illustrated  papyri  of  the  XVIIIth  and 
following  dynasties. 

"VVe  have  now  proved  that  the  idea  of  the  judgment 
of  the  dead  was  accepted  in  religious  writings  as  early 
as  the  IVtli  dynasty,  about  B.c.  3600,  but  we  have  to 
wait  nearly  two  thousand  years  before  we  find  it  in 
picture  form.  Certain  scenes  which  are  found  in  the 
Book  of  the  Dead  as  vignettes  accompanying  certain 
texts  or  chapters,  e.g.,  the  Fields  of  Hetep,  or  the  Elysian 
Fields,  are  exceedingly  old,  and  are  found  on  sarco¬ 
phagi  of  the  Xlth  and  Xllth  dynasties ;  but  the 
earliest  picture  known  of  the  Judgment  Scene  is  not 
older  than  the  XVIIIth  dynasty.  In  the  oldest 
Theban  papyri  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  no  Judgment 
Scene  is  forthcoming,  and  when  we  find  it  wanting 
in  such  authoritative  documents  as  the  Papyrus  of 
Xebseni  and  that  of  Xu,1  we  must  take  it  for  granted 
that  there  was  some  reason  for  its  omission.  In  the 
great  illustrated  papyri  in  which  the  Judgment  Scene 
is  given  in  full,  it  will  be  noticed  that  it  comes  at  the 


1  British  Museum,  No.  10,477. 


HYMN  SAID  TO  RA  AT  THE  JUDGMENT.  12 1 

beginning  of  the  work,  and  that  it  is  preceded  by 
hymns  and  by  a  vignette.  Thus,  in  the  Papyrus  of 
Ani,1  we  have  a  hymn  to  Ba,  followed  by  a  vignette 
representing  the  sunrise,  and  a  hymn  to  Osiris ;  and 
in  the  Papyrus  of  Hunefer,2  though  the  hymns  are 
different,  the  arrangement  is  the  same.  We  are 
justified,  then,  in  assuming  that  the  hymns  and  the 
Judgment  Scene  together  formed  an  introductory 
section  to  the  Book  of  the  Dead,  and  it  is  possible 
that  it  indicates  the  existence  of  the  belief,  at  least 
during  the  period  of  the  greatest  power  of  the  priests 
of  Amen,  from  B.c.  1700  to  B.c.  800,  that  the  judgment 
of  the  dead  for  the  deeds  done  in  the  body  preceded 
the  admission  of  the  dead  into  the  kingdom  of  Osiris. 
As  the  hymns  which  accompany  the  Judgment  Scene 
are  fine  examples  of  a  high  class  of  devotional  com¬ 
positions,  a  few  translations  from  some  of  them  are  here 
given. 


Hymn  to  Ea.3 

“  Homage  to  thee,  0  thou  who  risest  in  Nu,4  and 
who  at  thy  manifestation  dost  make  the  world  bright 
vj ith  light;  the  whole  company  of  the  gods  sing 
hymns  of  praise  unto  thee  after  thou  hast  come  forth. 

1  British  Museum,  No.  10,470. 

2  British  Museum,  No.  9901. 

3  See  The  Chapters  of  Coming  Forth  by  Day,  p.  7. 

4  The  sky  personified. 


122  HYMN  SAID  TO  RA  AT  THE  JUDGMENT. 

The  divine  Merti1  goddesses  who  minister  unto  thee 
cherish  thee  as  King  of  the  North  and  South,  thou 
beautiful  and  beloved  Man-child.  When  thou  risest 
men  and  women  live.  The  nations  rejoice  in  thee, 
and  the  Souls  of  Annu2  (Heliopolis)  sing  unto  thee 
songs  of  joy.  The  Souls  of  the  city  of  Pe,3  and  the 
Souls  of  the  city  of  Nekhen  4  exalt  thee,  the  apes  of 
dawn  adore  thee,  and  all  beasts  and  cattle  praise  thee 
with  one  accord.  The  goddess  Seba  overthrow eth 
thine  enemies,  therefore  hast  thou  rejoicing  in  thy 
boat;  thy  mariners  are  content  thereat.  Thou  hast 
attained  unto  the  Atet  boat,5  and  thy  heart  swelleth 
with  joy.  0  lord  of  the  gods,  when  thou  didst  create 
them  they  shouted  for  joy.  The  azure  goddess  Nut 
doth  compass  thee  on  every  side,  and  the  god  Nu 
floodeth  thee  with  his  rays  of  light.  0  cast  thou  thy 
light  upon  me  and  let  me  see  thy  beauties,  and  when 
thou  goest  forth  over  the  earth  I  will  sing  praises 
unto  thy  fair  face.  Thou  risest  in  heaven’s  horizon, 
and  thy  disk  is  adored  when  it  resteth  upon  the 
mountain  to  give  life  unto  the  world.” 

“  Thou  risest,  thou  risest,  and  thou  comest  forth 
from  the  god  Nu.  Thou  dost  renew  thy  youth,  and 

1  Literally,  the  Two  Eyes,  i.e.,  Isis  and  Nephthys. 

2  I.e. ,  Ra,  Shu,  and  Tefnut, 

3  Part  of  the  city  of  Buto  (Per-Uatchit).  The  souls  of  Pe  were 
Horus,  Mestha,  Hapi. 

4  I.e  ,  Horus,  Tuamutef,  and  Qebhsennuf. 

5  I.e.,  the  boat  in  which  the  sun  travels  until  noon. 


HYMN  SAID  TO  OSIRIS  AT  THE  JUDGMENT.  1 23 

thou  dost  set  thyself  in  the  place  where  thou  wast 
yesterday.  0  thou  divine  Child,  who  didst  create 
thyself,  I  am  not  able  [to  describe]  thee.  Thou  hast 
crnie  with  thy  risings,  and  thou  hast  made  heaven  and 
earth  resplendent  with  thy  rays  of  pure  emerald  light. 
The  land  of  Punt 1  is  stablished  [to  give]  the  perfumes 
which  thou  smellest  with  thy  nostrils.  Thou  risest, 
0  marvellous  Being,  in  heaven,  and  the  two  serpent- 
goddesses,  Merti,  are  stablished  upon  thy  brow.  Thou 
art  the  giver  of  laws,  0  thou  lord  of  the  world  and 
of  all  the  inhabitants  thereof ;  all  the  gods  adore  tliee.” 

Hymn  to  Osiris.2 

“Glory  be  to  thee,  0  Osiris  Un-nefer,  the  great  god 
within  Abydos,  king  of  eternity  and  lord  of  everlasting¬ 
ness,  the  god  who  passest  through  millions  of  years  in  thy 
existence.  Thou  art  the  eldest  son  of  the  womb  of  Nut, 
thou  wast  engendered  by  Seb,  the  Ancestor  of  the  gods, 
thou  art  the  lord  of  the  Crowns  of  the  North  and  of  the 
South,  and  of  the  lofty  white  crown.  As  Prince  of 
the  gods  and  of  men  thou  hast  received  the  crook,  and 
the  whip,  and  the  dignity  of  thy  divine  fathers.  Let 
thy  heart  which  is  in  the  mountain  of  Ament  3  be  con¬ 
tent,  for  thy  son  Horus  is  stablished  upon  thy  throne. 
Thou  art  crowned  the  lord  of  Tattu  (Mendes)  and  ruler 

1  I.e.,  the  land  on  each  side  of  the  Red  Sea  and  North-east  Africa. 

2  See  The  Chapters  of  Coming  Forth  by  Day ,  p.  11. 

3  I.e.,  the  underworld. 


124  HYMN  SAID  TO  OSIRIS  AT  THE  JUDGMENT. 

iii  Abtu.  (Abydos).  Through  thee  the  world  waxeth 
green  in  triumph  before  the  might  of  Neb-er-tchei. 
Thou  leadest  in  thy  train  that  which  is,  and  that  which 
is  not  yet,  in  thy  name  of  *  Ta-her-sta-nef thou  to  west 
along  the  earth  in  thy  name  of  ‘Seker;  thou  ait 
exceedingly  mighty  and  most  terrible  in  thy  name 
of  ‘  Osiris ;  ’  thou  endurest  for  ever  and  for  ever  in  thy 
name  of  ‘  Un-nefer.’  ” 

“  Homage  to  thee,  0  thou  King  of  kings,  Lord  of 
lords,  Prince  of  Princes !  From  the  womb  of  Nut  thou 
hast  ruled  the  world  and  the  underworld.  Thy  body 
is  of  bright  and  shining  metal,  thy  head  is  of  azure 
blue,  and  the  brilliance  of  the  turquoise  encircleth  thee. 
0  thou  god  An,  who  hast  had  existence  for  millions  of 
years,  who  pervadest  all  things  with  thy  body,  who  art 
beautiful  in  countenance  in  the  Land  of  Holiness  (i.e., 
the  underworld),  grant  thou  to  me  splendour  in  heaven, 
might  upon  earth,  and  triumph  in  the  underworld. 
Grant  thou  that  I  may  sail  down  to  Tattu  like  a  living 
soul,  and  up  to  Abtu  like  the  phoenix  ;  and  grant  that 
I  may  enter  in  and  come  forth  irom  the  pylons  of  the 
lands  of  the  underworld  without  let  or  hindrance.  May 
loaves  of  bread  be  given  unto  me  in  the  house  of  cool¬ 
ness,  and  offerings  of  food  and  drink  in  Annu  (Helio¬ 
polis),  and  a  homestead  for  ever  and  for  ever  in  the 
Field  of  Feeds 2  with  wheat  and  barley  therefor/’ 

1  A  name  of  Osiris. 

•  A  division  of  the  “  Fields  of  Peace”  or  Elysiau  Fields. 


PETITION  OF  HUNEFER. 


125 


In  the  long  and  important  hymn  in  the  Papyrus  of 
Hunefer1  occurs  the  following  petition,  which  is  put 
into  the  mouth  of  the  deceased  : — 

“  Grant  that  I  may  follow  in  the  train  of  thy  Majesty 
even  as  I  did  upon  earth.  Let  my  soul  be  called  [into 
the  presence],  and  let  it  be  found  by  the  side  of  the 
lords  of  right  and  truth.  I  have  come  into  the  City  of 
God,  the  region  which  existed  in  primeval  time,  with 
[my]  soul,  and  with  [my]  double,  and  with  [my] 
translucent  form,  to  dwell  in  this  land.  The  God 
thereof  is  the  lord  of  right  and  truth,  he  is  the  lord  of 
the  tchefau  food  of  the  gods,  and  he  is  most  holy.  His 
land  draweth  unto  itself  every  land  ;  the  South  cometh 
sailing  down  the  river  thereto,  and  the  North,  steered 
thither  by  winds,  cometh  daily  to  make  festival  therein 
according  to  the  command  of  the  God  thereof,  who  is 
the  Lord  of  peace  therein.  And  doth  he  not  say,  ‘  The 
happiness  thereof  is  a  care  unto  me  ’  ?  The  god  who 
dwell eth  therein  worketh  right  and  truth;  unto  him 
that  doeth  these  things  he  giveth  old  age,  and  to  him 
that  folio weth  after  them  rank  and  honour,  until  at 
length  he  attaineth  unto  a  happy  funeral  and  burial  in 
the  Holy  Land  ”  (i.e.,  the  underworld). 

The  deceased,  having  recited  these  words  of  prayer 
and  adoration  to  Pia,  the  symbol  of  Almighty  God,  and 
to  his  son  Osiris,  next  “  cometh  forth  into  the  Hall  of 
Maati,  that  he  may  be  separated  from  every  sin  which 
1  See  The  Chapters  of  Coming  Forth  by  Day,  pp.  343-34G. 


X2 6  THE  HALL  OF  THE  MAATI. 

lie  hath  done,  and  may  behold  the  faces  of  the  gods.”  1 
From  the  earliest  times  the  Maati  were  the  two 
goddesses  Isis  and  Nephthys,  and  they  were  so  called 
because  they  represented  the  ideas  of  straightness, 
integrity,  righteousness,  what  is  right,  the  truth,  and 
such  like ;  the  word  Maat  originally  meant  a  measuring 
reed  or  stick.  They  were  supposed  either  to  sit  in  the 
Hall  of  Maat  outside  the  shrine  of  Osiris,  or  to  stand 
by  the  side  of  this  god  in  the  shrine ;  an  example  of 
the  former  position  will  be  seen  in  the  Papyrus  of  Ani 
(Plate  31),  and  of  the  latter  in  the  Papyrus  of  Hunefer 
(Plate  4).  The  original  idea  of  the  Hall  of  Maat  or 
Maati  was  that  it  contained  forty-two  gods,  a  fact  which 
we  may  see  from  the  following  passage  in  the  Intro¬ 
duction  to  Chapter  CXXY.  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead. 

The  deceased  says  to  Osiris  : — 

“  Homage  to  thee,  0  thou  great  God,  thou  Lord  of 
the  two  Maat  goddesses  !  I  have  come  to  thee,  0  my 
Lord,  and  I  have  made  myself  to  come  hither  that  I 
may  behold  thy  beauties.  I  know  thee,  and  I  know 
thy  name,  and  I  know  the  names  of  the  two  and  foity 
cods  who  live  with  thee  in  this  Hall  of  Maati,  who  live 
as  watchers  of  sinners  and  who  feed  upon  their  blood 
on  that  day  when  the  characters  (or  lives)  of  men  are 
reckoned  up  (or  taken  into  account)  in  the  presence  of 
the  god  Un-nefer.  Verily,  God  of  the  Bekhti-Merti 

1  This  quotation  is  from  the  title  of  Chapter  CXXY.  of  the  Book  of 
the  Dead. 


THE  FORTY-TWO  GODS. 


127 


( i.e .,  the  twin  sisters  of  the  two  eyes),  the  Lord  of  the 
city  of  Maati  is  thy  name.  Verily  I  have  come  to 
thee,  and  I  have  brought  Maat  unto  thee,  and  I  have 
destroyed  wickedness.” 

The  deceased  then  goes  on  to  enumerate  the  sins 
or  offences  which  he  has  not  committed,  and  he  con¬ 
cludes  by  saying  :  “I  am  pure  ;  I  am  pure ;  I  am 
pure  ;  I  am  pure.  My  purity  is  the  purity  of  the 
great  Bennu  which  is  in  the  city  of  Suten-lienen 
(Heracleopolis),  for,  behold,  I  am  the  nostrils  of  the 
God  of  breath,  who  maketh  all  mankind  to  live  on  the 
day  when  the  Eye  of  Ba  is  full  in  Annu  (Heliopolis) 
at  the  end  of  the  second  month  of  the  season  Pert.1 
I  have  seen  the  Eye  of  Ka  when  it  was  full  in  Annu ; 2 
therefore  let  not  evil  befall  me  either  in  this  land 
or  in  this  Hall  of  Maati,  because  I,  even  I,  know  the 
names  of  the  gods  who  are  therein.” 

Now  as  the  gods  who  live  in  the  Hall  of  Maat  with 
Osiris  are  two  and  forty  in  number,  we  should  expect 
that  two  and  forty  sins  or  offences  would  be  mentioned 
in  the  addresses  which  the  deceased  makes  to  them ; 
but  this  is  not  the  case,  for  the  sins  enumerated  in  the 
Introduction  never  reach  this  number.  In  the  great 
illustrated  papyri  of  the  XVIIIth  and  XIXth  dynasties 
we  find,  however,  that  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 

1  I.e.,  the  last  day  of  the  sixth  month  of  the  Egyptian  year,  called 
by  the  Copts  Mekhir. 

2  The  allusion  here  seems  to  be  to  the  Summer  or  Winter  Solstice. 


128 


THE  HALL  OF  THE  MAATI. 


a  large  number  of  sins,  which  tlie  deceased  declares 
he  has  not  committed,  are  mentioned  in  the  Introduc¬ 
tion,  the  scribes  and  artists  added  a  series  of  negative 
statements,  forty-two  in  number,  which  they  set  out  in 
a  tabular  form.  This,  clearly,  is  an  attempt  to  make  the 
sins  mentioned  equal  in  number  to  the  gods  of  the  Hall 
of  Maat,  and  it  would  seem  as  if  they  preferred  to 
compose  an  entirely  new  form  of  this  section  of  the  one 
hundred  and  twenty- fifth  chapter  to  making  any  attempt 
to  add  to  or  alter  the  older  section.  The  artists,  then, 
depicted  a  Hall  of  Maat,  the  doors  of  which  are  wide 
open,  and  the  cornice  of  which  is  formed  of  uraei  and 
feathers,  symbolic  of  Maat.  Over  the  middle  of  the 
cornice  is  a  seated  deity  with  hands  extended,  the 
right  over  the  Eye  of  Horus,  and  the  left  over  a  pool. 
At  the  end  of  the  Hall  are  seated  the  goddesses  of 
Maat,  i.e.,  Isis  and  Nephthys,  the  deceased  adoring  Osiris 
who  is  seated  on  a  throne,  a  balance  with  the  heart 
of  the  deceased  in  one  scale,  and  the  feather,  symbolic 
of  Maat,  in  the  other,  and  Thoth  painting  a  large 
feather.  In  this  Hall  sit  the  forty-two  gods,  and  as 
the  deceased  passes  by  each,  the  deceased  addresses 
him  by  his  name  and  at  the  same  time  declares  that 
he  has  not  committed  a  certain  sin.  An  examination 
of  the  different  papyri  shows  that  the  scribes  often 
made  mistakes  in  writing  this  list  of  gods  and  list 
of  sins,  and,  as  the  result,  the  deceased  is  made  to 
recite  before  one  god  the  confession  which  strictly 


EGYPTIAN  RELIGION  AND  MORALITY.  1 29 

belongs  to  another.  Inasmuch  as  the  deceased  always 
says  after  pronouncing  the  name  of  each  god,  “  I 
have  not  done  ”  such  and  such  a  sin,  the  whole  group 
of  addresses  has  been  called  the  “  Negative  Confession.” 
The  fundamental  ideas  of  religion  and  morality  which 
underlie  this  Confession  are  exceedingly  old,  and  we 
may  gather  from  it  with  tolerable  clearness  what  the 
ancient  Egyptian  believed  to  constitute  his  duty 
towards  God  and  towards  his  neighbour. 

It  is  impossible  to  explain  the  fact  that  forty-two 
gods  only  are  addressed,  and  equally  so  to  say  why  this 
number  was  adopted.  Some  have  believed  that  the 
forty-two  gods  represented  each  a  nome  of  Egypt,  and 
much  support  is  given  to  this  view  by  the  fact  that 
most  of  the  lists  of  nomes  make  the  number  to  be 
forty-two ;  but  then,  again,  the  lists  do  not  agree. 
The  classical  authors  differ  also,  for  by  some  of  these 
writers  the  nomes  are  said  to  be  thirty-six  in  number, 
and  by  others  forty-six  are  enumerated.  These  differ¬ 
ences  may,  however,  be  easily  explained,  for  the  central 
administration  may  at  any  time  have  added  to  or  taken 
from  the  number  of  nomes  for  fiscal  or  other  considera¬ 
tions,  and  we  shall  probably  be  correct  in  assuming 
that  at  the  time  the  Negative  Confession  was  drawn 
up  in  the  tabular  form  in  which  we  meet  it  in  the 
XVIIIth  dynasty  the  nomes  were  forty-two  in  number. 
Support  is  also  lent  to  this  view  by  the  fact  that 
the  earliest  form  of  the  Confession,  which  forms  the 


K 


130 


THE  NEGATIVE  CONFESSION. 


Introduction  to  Chapter  CXXV.,  mentions  less  than 
forty  sins.  Incidentally  we  may  notice  that  the  forty- 
two  gods  are  subservient  to  Osiris,  and  that  they  only 
occupy  a  subordinate  position  in  the  Hall  of  Judgment, 
for  it  is  the  result  of  the  weighing  of  the  heart  of  the 
deceased  in  the  balance  that  decides  his  future.  Before 
passing  to  the  description  of  the  Hall  of  Judgment 
where  the  balance  is  set,  it  is  necessary  to  give  a 
rendering  of  the  Negative  Confession  which,  presumably, 
the  deceased  recites  before  his  heart  is  weighed  in  the 
balance ;  it  is  made  from  the  Papyrus  of  Xu.1 

1.  “  Hail  Usekh-nemtet  (i.e.,  Long  of  strides),  who 
comest  forth  from  Annu  (Heliopolis),  I  have  not  done 
iniquity. 

2.  “  Hail  Hept-seshet  (i.e.,  Embraced  by  flame),  who 
comest  forth  from  Kher-aba,2  I  have  not  robbed  with 
violence. 

3.  “  Hail  Eenti  (i.e.,  Nose),  who  comest  forth  from 
Khemennu  (Hermopolis),  I  have  not  done  violence 
to  any  man. 

4.  “  Hail  Am-khaibitu  (i.e.,  Eater  of  shades),  who 
comest  forth  from  the  Qereret  (i.e.,  the  cavern  where  the 
Nile  rises),  I  have  not  committed  theft. 

5.  “Hail  Neha-hra  (i.e.,  Stinking  face),  who  comest 
forth  from  Piestau,  I  have  slain  neither  man  nor  woman. 

6.  “Hail  Piereti  (i.e.,  Double  Lion-god),  who  comest 
forth  from  heaven,  I  have  not  made  light  the  bushel. 


1  British  Museum,  No.  10,477. 


2  A  city  near  Memphis. 


THE  NEGATIVE  CONFESSION.  1 3  I 

7.  “Hail  Maata-f-em-seshet  ( i.e .,  Fiery  eyes),  who 
comest  forth  from  Sekhem  (Letopolis),  I  have  not 
acted  deceitfully. 

8.  “Hail  Neba  (i.e.,  Flame),  who  comest  forth  and 
retreatest,  I  have  not  purloined  the  things  which 
belong  unto  God. 

9.  “  Hail  Set-qesu  (i.e.,  Crusher  of  bones),  who  comest 
forth  from  Suten-henen  (Heracleopolis),  I  have  not 
uttered  falsehood. 

10.  “  Hail  Khemi  (i.e.,  Overthrower),  who  comest 
forth  from  Shetait  (i.e.,  the  hidden  place),  I  have  not 
carried  off  goods  by  force. 

11.  “  Hail  Uatch-nesert  (i.e.,  Vigorous  of  Flame),  who 
comest  forth  from  Het-ka-Ptah  (Memphis),  I  have 
not  uttered  vile  (or  evil)  words. 

12.  “  Hail  Hra-f-ha-f  (i.e.,  He  whose  face  is  behind 
him),  who  comest  forth  from  the  cavern  and  the  deep, 
I  have  not  carried  off  food  by  force. 

13.  “  Hail  Qerti  (i.e.,  the  double  Nile  source),  who 
comest  forth  from  the  Underworld,  I  have  not  acted 
deceitfully. 

14.  “  Hail  Ta-ret  (i.e.,  Fiery-foot),  who  comest  forth 
out  of  the  darkness,  I  have  not  eaten  my  heart  (i.e.  lost 
my  temper  and  become  angry). 

15.  “  Hail  Hetch-abehu  (i.e.,  Shining  teeth),  who 
comest  forth  from  Ta-she  (i.e.,  the  Fay  yum),  I  have 
invaded  no  [man’s  land]. 

16.  “  Hail  Am-senef  (i.e.,  Eater  of  blood),  who  comest 


132 


THE  NEGATIVE  CONFESSION. 


forth  from  the  house  of  the  block,  I  have  not  slaughtered 
animals  which  are  the  possessions  of  God. 

17.  “  Hail  Am-besek  ( i.e .,  Eater  of  entrails),  who 
comest  forth  from  Mabet,  I  have  not  laid  waste  the 
lands  which  have  been  ploughed. 

18.  “  Hail  Neb-Maat  (i.e.,  Lord  of  Maat),  who  comest 
forth  from  the  city  of  the  two  Maati,  I  have  not  pried 
into  matters  to  make  mischief. 

19.  “  Hail  Thenemi  (i.e.,  Retreater),  who  comest 
forth  from  Bast  (i.e.,  Bubastis),  I  have  not  set  my  mouth 
in  motion  against  any  man. 

20.  “  Hail  Anti,  who  comest  forth  from  Annu 
(Heliopolis),  I  have  not  given  way  to  wrath  without 
due  cause. 

21.  “Hail  Tututef,  who  comest  forth  from  the  nome 
of  Ati,  I  have  not  committed  fornication,  and  I  have 
not  committed  sodomy. 

22.  “Hail  Uamemti,  who  comest  forth  from  the 
house  of  slaughter,  I  have  not  polluted  myself. 

23.  “  Hail  Maa-ant-f  (i.e.,  Seer  of  what  is  brought 
to  him),  who  comest  forth  from  the  house  of  the  god 
Amsu,  I  have  not  lain  with  the  wife  of  a  man. 

24.  “  Hail  Her-seru,  who  comest  forth  from  Nehatu, 
I  have  not  made  any  man  to  be  afraid. 

25.  “Hail  Neb-Sekhem,  who  comest  forth  from  the 
Lake  of  Kaui,  I  have  not  made  my  speech  to  burn 
with  anger.1 

1  Literally,  “  I  have  not  been  hot  of  mouth.” 


THE  NEGATIVE  CONFESSION. 


1 3  3 


26.  “  Hail  Seshet-kheru  ( i.e Orderer  of  speech),  who 
comest  forth  from  Urit,  I  have  not  made  myself  deaf 
unto  the  words  of  right  and  truth. 

27.  “Hail  JSTekhen  (i.e.,  Babe),  who  comest  forth 
from  the  Lake  of  Heqat,  I  have  not  made  another 
person  to  weep. 

28.  “Hail  Kenemti,  who  comest  forth  from  Kenemet, 
I  have  not  uttered  blasphemies. 

29.  “Hail  An-hetep-f  (i.e.,  Bringer  of  his  offering), 
who  comest  forth  from  Sau,  I  have  not  acted  with 
violence. 

30.  “Hail  Ser-kheru  (i.e.,  Disposer  of  Speech),  who 
comest  forth  from  Unsi,  I  have  not  hastened  my  heart.1 

31.  “Hail  ISTeb-hrau  (i.e.,  Lord  of  Faces),  who  comest 
forth  from  Netchefet,  I  have  not  pierced  (?)  my  skin  (?), 
and  I  have  not  taken  vengeance  on  the  god. 

32.  “Hail  Serekhi,  who  comest  forth  from  Uthent, 
I  have  not  multiplied  my  speech  beyond  what  should 
be  said. 

33.  “Hail  Neb-abui  (i.e.,  Lord  of  horns),  who  comest 
forth  from  Sauti,  I  have  not  committed  fraud,  [and 
I  have  not]  looked  upon  evil. 

34.  “  Hail  Nefer-Tem,  who  comest  forth  from  Ptah- 
het-ka  (Memphis),  I  have  never  uttered  curses  against 
the  king. 

35.  “Hail  Tem-sep,  who  comest  forth  from  Tattu, 

I  have  not  fouled  running  water. 


1  I.e.,  acted  without  due  consideration. 


134  THE  negative  confession. 

36.  “Hail  Ari-em-ab-f,  who  comest  forth  from  Tebti, 
I  have  not  exalted  my  speech. 

37.  “Hail  Ahi,  who  comest  forth  from  Hu,  I  have 
not  uttered  curses  against  God. 

38.  “Hail  Uatch-rekhit  [who  comest  forth  from  his 
shrine  (?)],  I  have  not  behaved  with  insolence. 

39.  “Hail  Heheb-nefert,  who  comest  forth  from  his 
temple,  I  have  not  made  distinctions.1 

40.  “Hail  Neheb-kau,  who  comest  forth  from  thy 
cavern,  I  have  not  increased  my  wealth  except  by 
means  of  such  things  as  are  mine  own  possessions. 

41.  “Hail  Tcheser-tep,  who  comest  forth  from  thy 
shrine,  I  have  not  uttered  curses  against  that  which 
belongetli  to  God  and  is  with  me. 

42.  “Hail  An-a-f  ( i.e.f  Bringer  of  his  arm),  [who 
comest  forth  from  Aukert],  I  have  not  thought  scorn 
of  the  god  of  the  city.” 

A  brief  examination  of  this  “  Confession  ”  shows  that 
the  Egyptian  code  of  morality  was  very  comprehensive, 
and  it  would  be  very  hard  to  find  an  act,  the  com¬ 
mission  of  which  would  be  reckoned  a  sin  when  the 
“  Confession  ”  was  put  together,  which  is  not  included 
under  one  or  other  part  of  it.  The  renderings  of  the 
words  for  certain  sins  are  not  always  definite  or  exact, 
because  we  do  not  know  the  precise  idea  which  the 
framer  of  this  remarkable  document  had.  The  deceased 
states  that  he  has  neither  cursed  God,  nor  thought  scorn 

*  I.e.,  I  have  not  been  guilty  of  favouritism. 


THE  WEIGHING  OF  THE  HEART.  1 35 

of  the  god  of  his  city,  nor  cursed  the  king,  nor  com¬ 
mitted  theft  of  any  kind,  nor  murder,  nor  adultery,  nor 
sodomy,  nor  crimes  against  the  god  of  generation ;  he 
has  not  been  imperious  or  haughty,  or  violent,  or 
wrathful,  or  hasty  in  deed,  or  a  hypocrite,  or  an  accepter 
of  persons,  or  a  blasphemer,  or  crafty,  or  avaricious,  or 
fraudulent,  or  deaf  to  pious  words,  or  a  party  to  evil 
actions,  or  proud,  or  puffed  up ;  he  has  terrified  no  man, 
he  has  not  cheated  in  the  market-place,  and  he  has 
neither  fouled  the  public  watercourse  nor  laid  waste 
the  tilled  land  of  the  community.  This  is,  in  brief,  the 
confession  which  the  deceased  makes ;  and  the  next  act  ^ 
in  the  Judgment  Scene  is  weighing  the  heart  of  the 
deceased  in  the  scales.  As  none  of  the  oldest  papyri  of 
the  Book  of  the  Dead  supplies  us  with  a  representation 
of  this  scene,  we  must  have  recourse  to  the  best  of  the 
illustrated  papyri  of  the  latter  half  of  the  XVIIIth 
and  of  the  XIXth  dynasties.  The  details  of  the  Judg¬ 
ment  Scene  vary  greatly  in  various  papyri,  but  the 
essential  parts  of  it  are  always  preserved.  The  follow¬ 
ing  is  the  description  of  the  judgment  of  Ani,  as  it 
appears  in  his  wonderful  papyrus  preserved  in  the 
British  Museum. 

In  the  underworld,  and  in  that  portion  of  it  which  is 
called  the  Hall  of  Maati,  is  set  a  balance  wherein  the 
heart  of  the  deceased  is  to  be  weighed.  The  beam  is 
suspended  by  a  ring  upon  a  projection  from  the  standard 
of  the  balance  made  in  the  form  of  the  feather  which 


136  THE  WEIGHING  OF  THE  HEART. 

is  the  symbol  of  Maat,  or  what  is  right  and  true.  The 
tongue  of  the  balance  is  fixed  to  the  beam,  and  when 
this  is  exactly  level,  the  tongue  is  as  straight  as  the 
standard;  if  either  end  of  the  beam  inclines  down¬ 
wards  the  tongue  cannot  remain  in  a  perpendicular 
position.  It  must  be  distinctly  understood  that  the 
heart  which  was  weighed  in  the  one  scale  was  not 
expected  to  make  the  weight  which  was  in  the  other  to 
kick  the  beam,  for  all  that  was  asked  or  required  of  the 
deceased  was  that  his  heart  should  balance  exactly  the 
symbol  of  the  law.  The  standard  was  sometimes  sur¬ 
mounted  by  a  human  head  wearing  the  feather  of  Maat ; 
sometimes  by  the  head  of  a  jackal,  the  animal  sacred 
to  Anubis ;  and  sometimes  by  the  head  of  an  ibis,  the 
bird  sacred  to  Thoth;  in  the  Papyrus  of  Ani  a  dog¬ 
headed  ape,  the  associate  of  Thoth,  sits  on  the  top  of 
the  standard.  In  some  papyri  (e.g.,  those  of  Ani  1  and 
Hunefer 2),  in  addition  to  Osiris,  the  king  of  the  under¬ 
world  and  judge  of  the  dead,  the  gods  of  his  cycle  or 
company  appear  as  witnesses  of  the  judgment.  In  the 
Papyrus  of  the  priestess  Anhai  3  in  the  British  Museum 
the  great  and  the  little  companies  of  the  gods  appear  as 
witnesses,  but  the  artist  was  so  careless  that  instead  of 
nine  gods  in  each  group  he  painted  six  in  one  and  five 
in  the  other.  In  the  Turin  papyrus4  we  see  the  whole 
of  the  forty-two  gods,  to  whom  the  deceased  recited  the 

1  About  b.c.  1500.  2  About  b.c.  1370.  3  About  b.c.  1000. 

4  Written  in  the  Ptolemaic  period. 


The  weighing  of  the  heart  of  the  scribe  Ani  in  the  Balance  in  the  presence  of  the  gods. 


THE  GODS  IN  JUDGMENT. 


139 

“Negative  Confession,”  seated  in  the  judgment-hall. 
The  gods  present  at  the  weighing  of  Ani’s  heart  are— 

1.  Ka-Harmachis,  hawk-headed,  the  Sun-god  of  the 
dawn  and  of  noon. 

2.  Temu,  the  Sun-god  of  the  evening,  the  great  god 
of  Heliopolis.  He  is  depicted  always  in  human  form 
and  with  the  face  of  a  man,  a  fact  which  proves  that  he 
had  at  a  very  early  period  passed  through  all  the  forms 
in  which  gods  are  represented,  and  had  arrived  at  that 
of  a  man.  He  has  upon  his  head  the  crowns  of  the 
South  and  North. 

3.  Shu,  man-headed,  the  son  of  Ra  and  Hathor,  the 
personification  of  the  sunlight. 

4.  Tefnut,  lion-headed,  the  twin-sister  of  Shu,  the 
personification  of  moisture. 

5.  Seb,  man-headed,  the  son  of  Shu,  the  personifica¬ 
tion  of  the  earth. 

6.  Nut,  woman-headed,  the  female  counterpart  of  the 
gods  Nu  and  Seb ;  she  was  the  personification  of  the 
primeval  water,  and  later  of  the  sky. 

7.  Isis,  woman-headed,  the  sister-wife  of  Osiris,  and 
mother  of  Horus. 

8.  Nephthys,  woman-headed,  the  sister-wife  of  Osiris 
and  mother  of  Anubis. 

9.  Hokus,  the  “great  god ,”  hawk-headed,  whose 
worship  was  probably  the  oldest  in  Egypt. 

10.  Hatiior,  woman-headed,  the  personification  of 
that  portion  of  the  sky  where  the  sun  rose  and  set. 


140 


THE  “EATER  OF  THE  DEAD.” 

11.  Hu,  man-headed,  and 

12.  Sa,  also  man-headed;  these  gods  are  present  in 
the  boat  of  Ra  in  the  scenes  which  depict  the  creation. 

On  one  side  of  the  balance  kneels  the  god  Anubis, 
jackal-headed,  who  holds  the  weight  of  the  tongue  of 
the  balance  in  his  right  hand,  and  behind  him  stands 
Thoth,  the  scribe  of  the  gods,  ibis-headed,  holding  in  his 
hands  a  reed  wherewith  to  write  down  the  result  of  the 
weighing.  Hear  him  is  seated  the  tri-formed  beast 
Am-mit,  the  “  Eater  of  the  Dead,”  who  waits  to  devour 
the  heart  of  Ani  should  it  be  found  to  be  light.  In  the 
Papyrus  of  Heb-qet  at  Paris  this  beast  is  seen  lying  by 
the  side  of  a  lake  of  fire,  at  each  corner  of  which  is 
seated  a  dog-headed  ape;  this  lake  is  also  seen  in 
Chapter  CXXYI.  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead.  The  gods 
who  are  seated  before  a  table  of  offerings,  and  Anubis, 
and  Thoth,  and  Am-mit,  are  the  beings  who  conduct 
the  case,  so  to  speak,  against  Ani.  On  the  other  side 
of  the  balance  stand  Ani  and  his  wife  Thuthu  with 
their  heads  reverently  bent ;  they  are  depicted  in  human 
form,  and  wear  garments  and  ornaments  similar  to  those 
which  they  wore  upon  earth.  His  soul,  in  the  form  of 
a  man-headed  hawk  standing  upon  a  pylon,  is  present, 
also  a  man-headed,  rectangular  object,  resting  upon  a 
pylon,  which  has  frequently  been  supposed  to  represent 
the  deceased  in  an  embryonic  state.  In  the  Papyrus 
of  Anhai  two  of  these  objects  appear,  one  on  each  side 
of  the  balance  ;  they  are  described  as  Shai  and  Kenenet, 


THE  GODDESSES  OF  DESTINY  AND  FORTUNE.  141 

two  words  which  are  translated  by  “  Destiny  ”  and 
“Fortune”  respectively.  It  is  most  probable,  as  the 
reading  of  the  name  of  the  object  is  Meskhenet,  and  as 
the  deity  Meskhenet  represents  sometimes  both  Shai  and 
Renenet,  that  the  artist  intended  the  object  to  represent 
both  deities,  even  though  we  find  the  god  Shai  standing 
below  it  close  to  the  standard  of  the  balance.  Close  by 
the  soul  stand  two  goddesses  called  Meskhenet  and 
Renenet  respectively ;  the  former  is,  probably,  one  of 
the  four  goddesses  who  assisted  at  the  resurrection  of 
Osiris,  and  the  latter  the  personification  of  Fortune, 
which  has  already  been  included  under  the  Meskhenet 
object  above,  the  personification  of  Destiny. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Meskhenet  accompanied 
Isis,  Nephthys,  Heqet,  and  Khnemu  to  the  house  of  the 
lady  Rut-Tettet,  who  was  about  to  bring  forth  three 
children.  When  these  deities  arrived,  having  changed 
their  forms  into  those  of  women,  they  found  Ra-user 
standing  there.  And  when  they  had  made  music  for 
him,  he  said  to  them,  “  Mistresses,  there  is  a  woman 
in  travail  here;”  and  they  replied,  “Let  us  see  her, 
for  we  know  how  to  deliver  a  woman.”  Ra-user  then 
brought  them  into  the  house,  and  the  goddesses  shut 
themselves  in  with  the  lady  Rut-Tettet.  Isis  took 
her  place  before  her,  and  Nephthys  behind  her,  whilst 
Heqet  hastened  the  birth  of  the  children;  as  each 
child  was  born  Meskhenet  stepped  up  to  him  and 
said,  “  A  king  who  shall  have  dominion  over  the  whole 


142  THE  DECEASED’S  ADDRESS  TO  HIS  HEART. 

land,”  and  the  god  Khnemu  bestowed  health  upon 
his  limbs.1  Of  these  five  gods,  Isis,  Nephthys,  Mesk- 
henet,  Heqet,  and  Khnemu,  the  first  three  are  present 
at  the  judgment  of  Ani ;  Khnemu  is  mentioned  in  Ani’s 
address  to  his  heart  (see  below),  and  only  Heqet  is 
unrepresented. 

As  the  weighing  of  his  heart  is  about  to  take  place 
Ani  says,  “  My  heart,  my  mother !  My  heart,  my 
mother !  My  heart  whereby  I  came  into  being !  May 
naught  stand  up  to  oppose  me  in  the  judgment ;  may 
there  be  no  opposition  to  me  in  the  presence  of  the 
sovereign  princes ;  may  there  be  no  parting  of  thee 
from  me  in  the  presence  of  him  that  keepeth  the 
Balance !  Thou  art  my  ka ,  the  dweller  in  my  body  ; 
the  god  Khnemu  who  knitteth  and  strengthened  my 
limbs.  Mayest  thou  come  forth  into  the  place  of 
happiness  whither  we  go.  May  the  princes  of  the 
court  of  Osiris,  who  order  the  circumstances  of  the 
lives  of  men,  not  cause  my  name  to  stink.”  Some 
papyri  add,  “Let  it  be  satisfactory  unto  us,  and  let 
the  listening  be  satisfactory  unto  us,  and  let  there 
be  joy  of  heart  unto  us  at  the  weighing  of  words.  Let 
not  that  which  is  false  be  uttered  against  me  before 
the  great  god,  the  lord  of  Amentet !  Yerily  how  great 
shalt  thou  be  when  thou  risest  in  triumph  !  ” 

The  tongue  of  the  balance  having  been  examined 

1  See  Erman,  Westcar  Papyrus,  Berlin,  1890,  hieroglyphic  tran¬ 
script,  plates  9  and  10. 


THE  SPEECH  OF  THOTH. 


143 


by  Anubis,  and  the  ape  having  indicated  to  his  associate 
Thoth  that  the  beam  is  exactly  straight,  and  that  the 
heart-,  therefore,  counterbalances  the  feather  symbolic 
of  Maat  (i.e.,  right,  truth,  law,  etc.),  neither  outwemhinor 
nor  underweighing  it,  Thoth  writes  down  the  result, 
and  then  makes  the  following  address  to  the  gods  : — 

“  Hear  ye  this  judgment.  The  heart  of  Osiris  hath 
in  very  truth  been  weighed,  and  his  soul  hath  stood 
as  a  witness  for  him ;  it  hath  been  found  true  by  trial 
in  the  Great  Balance.  There  hath  not  been  found  any 
wickedness  in  him;  he  hath  not  wasted  the  offerings 
in  the  temples ;  he  hath  not  done  harm  by  his  deeds  ; 
and  he  spread  abroad  no  evil  reports  while  he  was 
upon  earth.” 

In  answer  to  this  report  the  company  of  the  gods, 
who  are  styled  “the  great  company  of  the  gods,” 
reply,  “  That  which  cometh  forth  from  thy  mouth, 
0  Thoth,  who  dwellest  in  Khemennu  (Hermopolis), 
is  confirmed.  Osiris,  the  scribe  Ani,  triumphant,  is 
holy  and  righteous.  He  hath  not  sinned,  neither  hath 
he  done  evil  against  us.  The  Devourer  Ain-mit  shall 
not  be  allowed  to  prevail  over  him,  and  meat-offerings 
and  entrance  into  the  presence  of  the  god  Osiris  shall 
be  granted  unto  him,  together  with  a  homestead  for  ever 
in  the  Field  of  Peace,  as  unto  the  followers  of  Horus.”  1 

1  These  are  a  class  of  mythological  beings,  or  demi-gods,  who 
already  in  the  Vth  dynasty  were  supposed  to  recite  prayers  on  behalf 
of  the  deceased,  and  to  assist  Horus  and  Set  in  performing  funeral 
ceremonies.  See  my  Papyrus  of  Ani ,  p.  cxxv. 


144  THE  DECEASED  MADE  “  TRUE  OF  VOICE.” 


'  Here  we  notice  at  once  that  the  deceased  is  identified 
with  Osiris,  the  god  and  judge  of  the  dead,  and  that 
they  have  bestowed  upon  him  the  god’s  own  name ; 
the  reason  of  this  is  as  follows.  The  friends  of  the 
deceased  performed  for  him  all  the  ceremonies  and 
rites  which  were  performed  for  Osiris  by  Isis  and 
Nephthys,  and  it  was  assumed  that,  as  a  result,  the 
same  things  which  took  place  in  favour  of  Osiris 
would  also  happen  on  behalf  of  the  deceased,  and  that 
in  fact,  the  deceased  would  become  the  counterpart 
of  Osiris.  Everywhere  in  the  texts  of  the  Book  of 
the  Dead  the  deceased  is  identified  with  Osiris,  from 
B.c.  3400  to  the  Eoman  period.  Another  point  to 
notice  is  the  application  of  the  words  mad  kheru  to 
the  deceased,  a  term  which  I  have,  for  want  of  a  better 
word,  rendered  “  triumphant.”  These  words  actually 
mean  “  true  of  voice  ”  or  “  right  of  word,”  and  indicate 
that  the  person  to  whom  they  are  applied  has  acquired 
the  power  of  using  his  voice  in  such  a  way  that  when 
the  invisible  beings  are  addressed  by  him  they  will 
render  unto  him  all  the  service  which  he  has  obtained 
the  right  to  demand.  It  is  well  known  that  in  ancient 
times  magicians  and  sorcerers  were  wont  to  address 
spirits  or  demons  in  a  peculiar  tone  of  voice,  and  that 
all  magical  formulae  were  recited  in  a  similar  manner  ; 
the  use  of  the  wrong  sound  or  tone  of  voice  would 
result  in  the  most  disastrous  consequences  to  the 
speaker,  and  perhaps  in  death.  The  deceased  had 


WORDS  OF  POWER. 


145 

to  make  his  way  through  a  number  of  regions  in  the 
underworld,  and  to  pass  through  many  series  of  halls, 
the  doors  of  which  were  guarded  by  beings  who  were 
prepared,  unless  properly  addressed,  to  be  hostile  to 
the  new-comer ;  he  also  had  need  to  take  passage  in 
a  boat,  and  to  obtain  the  help  of  the  gods  and  of  the 
powers  of  the  various  localities  wherein  he  wanted  to 
travel  if  he  wished  to  pass  safely  into  the  place  where 
he  would  be.  The  Book  of  the  Dead  provided  him 
with  all  the  texts  and  formulae  which  he  would  have 
to  recite  to  secure  this  result,  but  unless  the  words 
contained  in  them  were  pronounced  in  a  proper  manner, 
and"said~  in  a  proper  tone  of  ..voice,  they  would  have 
no  effect  upon  the  powers  of  the  underworld.  The 
term  mad  kherw  is  applied  but  very  rarely  to  the 
•living,  but  com mrm  1  v  to  the  dead,  and  indeed  the  dead 
needed  most  the  power  which  these  words  indicated. 
In  the  case  of  Ani,  the  gods,  having  accepted  the 
favourable  report  of  the  result  obtained  by  weighing 
Ani  s  heart  by  Thoth,  style  him  mad  kheru,  which  is 
equivalent  to  conferring  upon  him  power  to  overcome 
all  opposition,  of  every  kind,  which  he  may  meet. 
Henceforth  every  door  will  open  at  his  command,  every 
god  will  hasten  to  obey  immediately  Ani  has  uttered 
his  name,  and  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  provide 
celestial  food  for  the  beatified  will  do  so  for  him  when 
once  the  order  has  been  given.  Before  passing  on 
to  other  matters  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  term 


L 


OSIRIS  IN  HIS  SHRINE. 


146 

maa  Tcheru  is  not  applied  to  Ani  by  himself  in  the 
Judgment  Scene,  nor  by  Thoth,  the  scribe  of  the  gods, 
nor  by  Horus  when  he  introduces  him  to  Osiris ;  it 
is  only  the  gods  who  can  make  a  man  maa  kheru,  and 
thereby  he  also  escapes  from  the  Devourer. 

The  judgment  ended,  Horus,  the  son  of  Isis,  who 
has  assumed  all  the  attributes  of  his  father  Osiris, 
takes  Ani’s  left  hand  in  his  right  and  leads  him  up  to 
the  shrine  wherein  the  god  Osiris  is  seated.  The  god 
wears  the  white  crown  with  feathers,  and  he  holds  in 
fils  hands  a  sceptre,  a  crook,  and  whin,  or  flail,  which 
typify  sovereignty  and^dominion  His  throne  is  a 
tomb,  of  which  the  bolted  doors  and  the  cornice  of  uraei 
may  be  seen  painted  on  the  side.  At  the  back  of  his 
neck  hangs  the  menat  or  symbol  of  joy  and  happiness ; 
on  his  right  hand  stands  Nephthys,  and  on  his  left 
stands  Isis.  Before  him,  standing  on  a  lotus  flower, 
are  theTour  children  of  Horus,  Mestha,  Hapi,  Tuamutef, 
and  Qebhsennuf,  who  presided  over  and  protected  the 
*  intestines  of  the  dead ;  close  by  hangs  the  skin  of  a 
bull  with  which  magical  ideas  seem  to  have  been 
associated.  The  top  of  the  shrine  in  which  the  god 
sits  is  surmounted  by  uraei,  wearing  disks  on  their 
heads,  and  the  cornice  also  is  similarly  decorated.  In 
several  papyri  the  god  is  seen  standing  up  in  the 
shrine,  sometimes  with  and  sometimes  without  the 
goddesses  Isis  and  Nephthys.  In  the  Papyrus  of 
Hunefer  we  find  a  most  interesting  variant  of  this 


ADDRESS  OF  THE  DECEASED  TO  OSIRIS.  149 

portion  of  the  scene,  for  the  throne  of  Osiris  rests 
upon,  or  in,  water.  This  reminds  us  of  the  passage 
in  the  one  hundred  and  twenty-sixth  chapter  of  the 
Book  of  the  Dead  in  which  the  god  Thoth  says  to  the 
deceased,  “  Who  is  he  whose  roof  is  of  fire,  whose  walls 
are  living  uraei,  and  the  floor  of  whose  house  is  a 
stream  of  running  water  ?  Who  is  he,  I  say  ?  ”  The 
deceased  answers,  “It  is  Osiris,”  and  the  god  says, 
“  Come  forward,  then ;  for  verily  thou  shalt  be  men¬ 
tioned  [to  him].” 

When  Horus  had  led  in  Ani  he  addressed  Osiris, 
saying,  “I  have  come  unto  thee,  0  Un-nefer,  and  I 
have  brought  the  Osiris  Ani  unto  thee.  His  heart 
hath  been  found  righteous  and  it  hath  come  forth  from 
the  balance;  it  hath  not  sinned  against  any  god  or 
any  goddess.  Thoth  hath  weighed  it  according  to  the 
decree  uttered  unto  him  by  the  company  of  the  gods ; 
and  it  is  very  true  and  right.  Grant  unto  him  cakes 
and  ale ;  and  let  him  enter  into  thy  presence ;  and  may 
he  be  like  unto  the  followers  of  Horus  for  ever !  ” 
After  this  address  Ani,  kneeling  by  the  side  of  tables 
of  offerings  of  fruit,  flowers,  etc.,  which  he  has  brought 
unto  Osiris,  says,  “0  Lord  of  Amentet,  I  am  in  thy 
presence.  There  is  no  sin  in  me,  I  have  not  lied 
wittingly,  nor  have  I  done  aught  with  a  false  heart. 
Grant  that  I  may  be  like  unto  those  favoured  ones 
who  are  round  about  thee,  and  that  I  may  be  an 
Osiris  greatly  favoured  of  the  beautiful  god  and 


150  ADDRESS  TO  GODS  OF  THE  UNDERWORLD. 

beloved  of  the  Lord  of  the  world,  [I],  the  royal  scribe 
of  Maat,  who  loveth  him,  Ani,  triumphant  before 
Osiris.”1  Thus  we  come  to  the  end  of  the  scene  of  the 
weighing  of  the  heart. 

The  man  who  has  passed  safely  through  this  ordeal 
has  now  to  meet  the  gods  of  the  underworld,  and  the 
Book  of  the  Dead  provides  the  words  which  “  the  heart 
which  is  righteous  and  sinless  ”  shall  say  unto  them. 
One  of  the  fullest  and  most  correct  texts  of  “  the  speech 
of  the  deceased  when  he  cometh  forth  true  of  voice 
from  the  Hall  of  the  Maati  goddesses  ”  is  found  in  the 
Papyrus  of  Hu  ;  in  it  the  deceased  says  : — 

“  Homage  to  you,  0  ye  gods  who  dwell  in  the  Hall  of 
the  Maati  goddesses,  I,  even  I,  know  you,  and  I  know 
your  names.  Let  me  not  fall  under  your  knives  of 
slaughter,  and  bring  ye  not  forward  my  wickedness 
unto  the  god  in  whose  train  ye  are ;  and  let  not  evil 
hap  come  upon  me  by  your  means.  0  declare  ye  me 
true  of  voice  in  the  presence  of  Heb-er-tcher,  because 
I  have  done  that  which  is  right  and  true  in  Ta-mera 
( [i.e .,  Egypt).  I  have  not  cursed  God,  therefore  let  not 
evil  hap  come  upon  me  through  the  King  who  dwelleth 
in  his  day. 

“  Homage  to  you,  O  ye  gods,  who  dwell  in  the  Hall 
of  the  Maati  goddesses,  who  are  without  evil  in  your 

1  Or  “  true  of  voice  in  respect  of  Osiris ;  ”  i.e.,  Ani  makes  his 
petition,  and  Osiris  is  to  hear  and  answer  because  he  has  uttered 
the  right  words  in  the  right  manner,  and  in  the  right  tone  of  voice. 


FINAL  CONFESSION. 


151 

bodies,  and  who  live  upon  right  and  truth,  and  who 
feed  yourselves  upon  right  and  truth  in  the  presence 
of  the  god  Horus,  who  dwelleth  in  his  divine  Disk ; 
deliver  ye  me  from  the  god  Baba 1  who  feedeth  upon 
the  entrails  of  the  mighty  ones  upon  the  day  of  the 
great  reckoning.  0  grant  ye  that  I  may  come  to  you, 
for  I  have  not  committed  faults,  I  have  not  sinned, 
I  have  not  done  evil,  I  have  not  borne  false  witness ; 
therefore  let  nothing  [evil]  be  done  unto  me.  I  live 
upon  right  and  truth,  and  I  feed  upon  right  and  truth. 
I  have  performed  the  commandments  of  men  [as  well 
as]  the  things  whereat  are  gratified  the  gods ;  I  have 
made  God  to  be  at  peace  [with  me  by  doing]  that 
which  is  his  will.  I  have  given  bread  to  the  hungry 
man,  and  water  to  the  thirsty  man,  and  apparel  to  the 
naked  man,  and  a  boat  to  the  [shipwrecked]  mariner. 
I  have  made  holy  offerings  to  the  gods,  and  sepulchral 
meals  to  the  beatified  dead.  Be  ye  then  my  deliverers, 
be  ye  then  my  protectors,  and  make  ye  not  accusation 
against  me  in  the  presence  of  [Osiris].  I  am  clean 
of  mouth  and  clean  of  hands ;  therefore  let  it  be  said 
unto  me  by  those  who  shall  behold  me,  ‘  Come  in  peace, 
come  in  peace/  I  have  heard  the  mighty  word  which 
the  spiritual  bodies  spake  unto  the  Cat 2  in  the  house 

1  The  firstborn  son  of  Osiris. 

2  l.e.,  Ka  as  the  slayer  of  the  serpent  of  darkness,  the  head  of  which 
tie  cuts  off  with  a  knife.  (See  above,  p.  63).  The  usual  reading  is 
“  which  the  Ass  spake  to  the  Cat ;  ”  the  Ass  being  Osiris  and  the 
Cat  Ka. 


152 


ADDRESS  TO  OSIRIS. 


of  Hapt-re.  I  have  testified  in  the  presence  of  Hra-f- 
ha-f,  and  he  hath  given  [his]  decision.  I  have  seen 
the  things  over  which  the  Persea  tree  spreadeth  within 
Pe-stan.  I  am  he  who  hath  offered  up  prayers  to  the 
gods  and  who  knoweth  their  persons.  I  have  come, 
and  I  have  advanced  to  make  the  declaration  of  right 
and  truth,  and  to  set  the  Balance  upon  what  supporteth 
it  in  the  region  of  Aukert. 

"  Hail,  thou  who  art  exalted  upon  thy  standard  (i.e., 
Osiris),  thou  lord  of  the  *  Atefu  ’  crown  whose  name  is 
proclaimed  as  ‘  Lord  of  the  winds/  deliver  thou  me  from 
thy  divine  messengers  who  cause  dire  deeds  to  happen, 
and  who  cause  calamities  to  come  into  being,  and  who 
are  without  coverings  for  their  faces,  for  I  have  done 
that  which  is  right  and  true  for  the  Lord  of  right  and 
truth.  I  have  purified  myself  and  my  breast  with 
libations,  and  my  hinder  parts  with  the  things  which 
make  clean,  and  my  inward  parts  have  been  [immersed] 
in  the  Pool  of  Eight  and  Truth.  There  is  no  single 
member  of  mine  which  lacketh  right  and  truth.  I  have 
been  purified  in  the  Pool  of  the  South,  and  I  have 
rested  in  the  City  of  the  North,  which  is  in  the  Pield 
of  the  Grasshoppers,  wherein  the  divine  sailors  of  Ea 
bathe  at  the  second  hour  of  the  night  and  at  the  third 
hour  of  the  day  ;  and  the  hearts  of  the  gods  are  gratified 
after  they  have  passed  through  it,  whether  it  be  by 
night,  or  whether  it  be  by  day.  And  I  would  that  they 
should  say  unto  me,  ‘Come  forward/  and  ‘Who  art 


THE  DECEASED  AND  THE  GODS  CONVERSE.  1 53 

thou  ?  and  ‘  What  is  thy  name  ?  ’  These  are  the  words 
which  I  would  have  the  gods  say  unto  me.  [Then 
would  I  reply]  ‘  My  name  is  He  who  is  provided  with 
flowers,  and  Dweller  in  his  olive  tree.’  Then  let  them 
say  unto  me  straightway,  ‘  Pass  on/  and  I  would  pass 
on  to  the  city  to  the  north  of  the  Olive  tree.  ‘What 
then  wilt  thou  see  there  ?  ’  [say  they.  And  I  say]  ‘  The 
Leg  and  the  Thigh.’  ‘What  wouldst  thou  say  unto 
them  ?  ’  [say  they.]  ‘  Let  me  see  rejoicings  in  the  land 
of  the  Fenkhu  ’  [I  reply].  ‘  What  will  they  give  thee  ? 
[say  they].  ‘A  fiery  flame  and  a  crystal  tablet’  [I 
reply].  ‘  What  wilt  thou  do  therewith  ?  ’  [say  they]. 

‘  Bury  them  by  the  furrow  of  Maaat  as  Things  for  the 
night’  [I  reply].  ‘What  wilt  thou  find  by  the 
furrow  of  Maaat  ?  ’  [say  they].  ‘  A  sceptre  of  flint  called 
Giver  of  Air  ’  [I  reply].  ‘What  wilt  thou  do  with  the 
fiery  flame  and  the  crystal  tablet  after  thou  hast  buried 
them  ?  ’  [say  they].  ‘  I  will  recite  words  over  them  in 
the  furrow.  I  will  extinguish  the  fire,  and  I  will  break 
the  tablet,  and  I  will  make  a  pool  of  water  ’  [I  reply]. 
Then  let  the  gods  say  unto  me,  ‘Come  and  enter  in 
through  the  door  of  this  Hall  of  the  Maati  goddesses, 
for  thou  knowest  us.’  ” 

After  these  remarkable  prayers  follows  a  dialogue 
between  each  part  of  the  Hall  of  Maati  and  the  deceased, 
which  reads  as  follows  : — 

Door  bolts.  “We  will  not  let  thee  enter  in  through  us 
unless  thou  tellest  our  names.” 


154 


THE  KNOWING  OF  NAMES. 


Deceased.  “  *  Tongue  of  the  place  of  Right  and  Truth  ’ 
is  your  name.” 

Eight  post.  “  I  will  not  let  thee  enter  in  by  me  unless 
thou  tellest  my  name.” 

Deceased.  “  ‘  Scale  of  the  lifter  up  of  right  and  truth  ’ 
is  thy  name.” 

Left  post.  “  I  will  not  let  thee  enter  in  by  me  unless 
thou  tellest  my  name.” 

Deceased.  “  ‘  Scale  of  wine  ’  is  thy  name.” 

Threshold.  “  I  will  not  let  thee  pass  over  me  unless 
thou  tellest  my  name.” 

Deceased.  “  ‘  Ox  of  the  god  Seb  ’  is  thy  name.” 

Hasp.  “  I  will  not  open  unto  thee  unless  thou  tellest 
my  name.” 

Deceased.  “ 1  Leg-bone  of  his  mother  ’  is  thy  name.” 

Socket-hole.  “  I  will  not  open  unto  thee  unless  thou 
tellest  my  name.” 

Deceased.  “  *  Living  Eye  of  Sebek,  the  lord  of  Bakliau,’ 
is  thy  name.” 

Porter.  “  I  will  not  open  unto  thee  unless  thou  tellest 
my  name.” 

Deceased.  “ f Elbow  of  the  god  Shu  when  he  placeth 
himself  to  protect  Osiris  ’  is  thy  name.” 

Side  posts.  “  We  will  not  let  thee  pass  in  by  us,  unless 
thou  tellest  our  names.” 

Deceased.  “  ‘  Children  of  the  uraei-goddesses  ’  is  your 
name.” 

“  Thou  knowest  us ;  pass  on,  therefore,  by  us  ”  [say 
these]. 


THE  KNOWING  OF  NAMES.  1 55 

Floor.  “I  will  not  let  thee  tread  upon  me,  because 
I  am  silent  and  I  am  holy,  and  because  I  do  not  know 
the  names  of  thy  feet  wherewith  thou  wouldst  walk 
upon  me  ;  therefore  tell  them  to  me.” 

Deceased.  “  ‘  Traveller  of  the  god  Khas  ’  is  the  name 
of  my  right  foot,  and  *  Staff  of  the  goddess  Hathor  ’  is 
the  name  of  my  left  foot.” 

“  Thou  knowest  me ;  pass  on,  therefore,  over  me  ”  [it 
saith]. 

Doorkeeper.  “  I  will  not  take  in  thy  name  unless  thou 
tellest  my  name.” 

Deceased.  ‘“Discerner  of  hearts  and  searcher  of  the 
reins  ’  is  thy  name.” 

Doorkeeper.  “Who  is  the  god  that  dwelleth  in  his 
hour  ?  Utter  his  name.” 

Deceased.  “  *  Maau-Taui  ’  is  his  name.” 

Doorkeeper.  “  And  who  is  Maau-Taui  ?  ” 

Deceased.  “  He  is  Thoth.” 

Thoth.  “  Come  !  But  why  hast  thou  come  ?  ” 

Deceased.  “  I  have  come  and  I  press  forward  that  my 
name  may  be  mentioned.” 

Thoth.  “  In  what  state  art  thou  ?  ” 

Deceased.  “  I  am  purified  from  evil  things,  and  I  am 
protected  from  the  baleful  deeds  of  those  who  live  in 
their  days;  and  I  am  not  of  them.” 

Thoth.  “  How  will  I  make  mention  of  thy  name 
[to  the  god].  And  who  is  he  whose  roof  is  of 
fire,  whose  walls  are  living  uraei,  and  the  floor  of 


156  THE  REWARD  OF  THE  DECEASED. 

whose  house  is  a  stream  of  water  ?  Who  is  he,  I 
say  ?  ” 

Deceased.  “  It  is  Osiris.” 

Thoth.  “  Come  forward,  then  ;  verily,  mention  of  thy 
name  shall  be  made  unto  him.  Thy  cakes  [shall  come] 
from  the  Eye  of  Ba ;  and  thine  ale  [shall  come]  from 
the  Eye  of  Ba ;  and  thy  sepulchral  meals  upon  earth 
[shall  come]  from  the  Eye  of  Ba.” 

With  these  words  Chapter  CXXV  comes  to  an  end. 
We  have  seen  how  the  deceased  has  passed  through  the 
ordeal  of  the  judgment,  and  how  the  scribes  provided 
him  with  hymns  and  prayers,  and  with  the  words  of  a 
confession  with  a  view  of  facilitating  his  passage  through 
the  dread  Hall  of  the  Maati  goddesses.  Unfortunately 
the  answer  which  the  god  Osiris  may  be  supposed  to 
have  made  to  his  son  Horus  in  respect  of  the  deceased 
is  not  recorded,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  Egyptian 
assumed  that  it  would  be  favourable  to  him,  and  that 
permission  would  be  accorded  him  to  enter  into  each 
and  every  portion  of  the  underworld,  and  to  partake  of 
all  the  delights  which  the  beatified  enjoyed  under  the 
rule  of  Ba  and  Osiris. 


(  157  ) 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  RESURRECTION  AND  IMMORTALITY. 

In  perusing  the  literature  of  the  ancient  Egyptians  one 
of  the  first  things  which  forces  itself  upon  the  mind  of 
the  reader  is  the  frequency  of  allusions  to  the  future 
life  oi  to  things  which  appertain  thereto.  The  writers 
of  the  various  religious  and  other  works,  belonging  to 
all  periods  of  Egyptian  history,  which  have  come  down 
to  us,  tacitly  assume  throughout  that  those  who  once 
have  lived  in  this  world  have  “ renewed”  their  life  in  that 
which  is  beyond  the  grave,  and  that  they  still  live  and 
will  live  until  time  shall  be  no  more.  The  Egyptian 
belief  in  the  existence  of  Almighty  God  is  old,  so  old 
that  we  must  seek  for  its  beginnings  in  pre-dynastic 
times ,  but  the  belief  in  a  future  life  is  very  much  v' 
older,  and  its  beginnings  must  be  as  old,  at  least,  as  the 
oldest  human  remains  which  have  been  found  in  Egypt. 

To  attempt  to  measure  by  years  the  remoteness  of 
the  period  when  these  were  committed  to  the  earth  is 
futile,  for  no  date  that  could  be  given  them  is  likely 
to  be  even  approximately  correct,  and  they  may  as 


158 


PRE-DYNASTIC  BURIALS. 


well  date  from  b.c.  12,000  as  from  b.c.  8000.  Of  one 
fact,  however,  we  may  be  quite  certain ;  that  is  to  say, 
^  that  the  oldest  human  remains  that  have  been  found 
in  Egypt  bear  upon  them  traces  of  the  use  of  bitumen, 
which  proves  that  the  Egyptians  at  the  very  beginning 
of  their  stay  in  the  valley  of  the  Nile  made  some 
attempt  to  preserve  their  dead  by  means  of  mummi¬ 
fication.1  If  they  were,  as  many  think,  invaders  who 
had  made  their  way  across  Arabia  and  the  Red  Sea  and 
the  eastern  desert  of  the  Nile,  they  may  have  brought 
the  idea  and  habit  of  preserving  their  dead  with  them, 
or  they  may  have  adopted,  in  a  modified  form,  some 
practice  in  use  among  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  whom 
they  found  on  their  arrival  in  Egypt ;  in  either  case 
the  fact  that  they  attempted  to  preserve  their  dead  by 
the  use  of  substances  which  would  arrest  decay  is 
certain,  and  in  a  degree  their  attempt  has  succeeded. 

The  existence  of  the  non-historic  inhabitants  of  Egypt 
has  been  revealed  to  us  in  recent  years  by  means  of  a 
number  of  successful  excavations  which  have  been 
made  in  Upper  Egypt  on  both  sides  of  the  Nile  by 
several  European  and  native  explorers,  and  one  of  the 
most  striking  results  has  been  the  discovery  of  three 
different  kinds  of  burials,  which  undoubtedly  belong 
to  three  different  periods,  as  we  may  see  by  examining 
the  various  objects  which  have  been  found  in  the  early 
graves  at  Nakadah  and  other  non-historic  sites  of  the 

1  See  J.  de  Morgan,  Ethnographie  Prdiistorique,  Paris,  1897,  p.  139. 


PRE-DYN ASTIC  BURIALS. 


159 
W-*- — 

same  age  and  type.  In  the  oldest  tombs  we  find  the  o\ 
skeleton  laid  upon  its  left  side,  with  the  limbs  bent : 
the  knees  are  on  a  level  with  the  breast,  and  the  hands 
are  placed  in  front  of  the  face.  Generally  the  head 
faces  towards  the  south,  but  no  invariable  rule  seems 
to  have  been  observed  as  to  its  “  orientation.”  Before 
the  body  was  laid  in  the  ground  it  was  either  wrapped 
in  gazelle  skin  or  laid  in  loose  grass;  the  substance 
used  for  the  purposes  of  wrapping  probably  depended 
upon  the  social  condition  of  the  deceased.  In  burials 
of  this  class  there  are  no  traces  of  mummification,  or 
of  burning,  or  of  stripping  the  flesh  from  the  bones. 

In  the  next  oldest  graves  the  bodies  are  found  to  have 
been  wholly  or  partly  stripped  of  their  flesh;  in  the 
former  case  all  the  bones  are  found  cast  indiscrimi¬ 
nately  in  the  grave,  in  the  latter  the  bones  of  the  hands 
and  the  feet  were  laid  together,  while  the  rest  of  the 
skeleton  is  scattered  about  in  wild  confusion.  Graves 
of  this  period  are  found  to  be  oriented  either  north  or 
south,  and  the  bodies  in  them  usually  have  the  head 
separated  from  the  body ;  sometimes  it  is  clear  that  the 
bodies  have  been  “  join  ted”  so  that  they  might  occupy 
less  space.  Occasionally  the  bodies  are  found  lying 
upon  their  backs  with  their  legs  and  arms  folded  over 
them;  in  this  case  they  are  covered  over  with  clay 
casings.  In  certain  graves  it  is  clear  that  the  body  ^ 
has  been  burnt.  Now  in  all  classes  of  tombs  belong- 
ing  to  the  prehistoric  period  in  Egypt  we  find  offerings 


l60  ANTIQUITY  OF  BELIEF  IN  IMMORTALITY. 

in  vases  and  vessels  of  various  kinds,  a  fact  which 
proves  beyond  all  doubt  that  the  men  who  made  these 
graves  believed  that  their  dead  friends  and  relatives 
~wuld  live  again  in  some  place,  of  the  whereabouts 
of  which  they  probably  had  very  vague  ideas,  in  a  life 
which  was,  presumably,  not  unlike  that  which  they 
had  lived  upon  earth.  The  flint  tools,  knives,  scrapers 
and  the  like  indicate  that  they  thought  they  would 
hunt  and  slay  their  quarry  when  brought  down,  and 
fight  their  foes ;  and  the  schist  objects  found  in  the 
graves,  which  M.  de  Morgan  identifies  as  amulets, 
shows  that  even  in  those  early  days  man  believed  that 
he  could  protect  himself  against  the  powers  of  super¬ 
natural  and  invisible  enemies  by  talismans.  The  man 
who  would  hunt  and  fight  in  the  next  world  must  live 
again;  and  if  he  would  live  again  it  must  be  either 
in  his  old  body  or  in  a  new  one ;  if  in  the  old  body,  it 
must  be  revivified.  But  once  having  imagined  a  new 
life,  probably  in  a  new  body,  death  a  second  time  was 
not,  the  prehistoric  Egyptian  hoped,  within  the  bounds 
of  possibility.  Here,  then,  we  have  the  origin  of  the 
grand  ideas  of  the  Resurrection  and  Immortality. 

There  is  every  reason  for  believing  that  the  pre¬ 
historic  Egyptian  expected  to  eat,  and  to  drink,  and  to 
lead  a  life  of  pleasure  in  the  region  where  he  imagined 
his  heaven  to  be,  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  he 
thought  the  body  in  which  he  would  live  there  would 
be  not  unlike  the  body  which  he  had  while  he  was 


THE  PRIESTS  OF  HELIOPOLIS.  161 

upon  earth.  At  this  stage  his  ideas  of  the  super  - 
natural  and  of  the  future  life  would  be  like  those  of 
any  man  of  the  same  race  who  stood  on  the  same  level 
in  the  scale  of  civilization,  hut  in  every  way  he  was 
a  great  contrast  to  the  Egyptian  who  lived,  let  us  say, 
in  the  time  of  Mena,  the  first  historical  king  of  Egypt, 
the  date  of  whom  for  convenience’  sake  is  placed  at 
b.c.  4400.  The  interval  between  the  time  when  the 
prehistoric  Egyptians  made  the  graves  described  above 
and  the  reign  of  Mena  must  have  been  very  consider¬ 
able,  and  we  may  justly  believe  it  to  represent  some 
thousands  of  years ;  but  whatever  its  length,  we  find  ^ 
that  the  time  was  not  sufficient  to  wipe  out  the  early 
views  which  had  been  handed  on  from  generation  to 
generation,  or  even  to  modify  some  of  the  beliefs  which 
we  now  know  to  have  existed  in  an  almost  unchanged 
state  at  the  latest  period  of  Egyptian  history.  In  the 
texts  which  were  edited  by  the  priests  of  Heliopolis 
we  find  references  to  a  state  or  condition  of  things, 
as  far  as  social  matters  are  concerned,  which  could 
only  exist  in  a  society  of  men  who  were  half  savages, 
And  we  see  from  later  works,  when  extracts  are  made 
from  the  earlier  texts  which  contain  such  references, 
that  the  passages  in  which  objectionable  allusions 
occur  are  either  omitted  altogether  or  modified.  We 
know  of  a  certainty  that  the  educated  men  of  the 
College  of  Heliopolis  cannot  have  indulged  in  the 
excesses  which  the  deceased  kings  for  whom  they 

M 


1 62  THE  BURNING  OF  THE  DEAD. 

prepared  the  funeral  texts  are  assumed  to  enjoy,  and 
the  mention  of  the  nameless  abomination  which  the 
savage  Egyptian  inflicted  upon  his  vanquished  foe  can 
only  have  been  allowed  to  remain  in  them  because  of 
their  own  reverence  for  the  written  word. 

In  passing  it  must  be  mentioned  that  the  religious 
ideas  of  the  men  who  were  buried  without  mutilation 
of  limbs,  or  stripping  of  flesh  from  the  body,  or  burning, 
must  have  been  different  from  those  of  the  men  who 
practised  such  things  on  the  dead.  The  former  are 
buried  in  the  ante-natal  position  of  a  child,  and  we 
may  perhaps  be  justified  in  seeing  in  this  custom 
the  symbol  of  a  hope  that  as  the  child  is  born  from 
this  position  into  the  world,  so  might  the  deceased 
be  born  into  the  life  in  the  world  beyond  the  grave ; 
and  the  presence  of  amulets,  the  object  of  which  was 
to  protect  the  body,  seems  to  indicate  that  they 
expected  the  actual  body  to  rise  again.  The  latter, 
by  the  mutilation  of  the  bodies  and  the  burning  of 
the  dead,  seem  to  show  that  they  had  no  hope  of  living 
again  in  their  natural  bodies,  and  how  far  they  had 
approached  to  the  conception  of  the  resurrection  of 
a  spiritual  body  we  shall  probably  never  know.  When 
we  arrive  at  the  IYth  dynasty  we  find  that,  so  far 
from  any  practice  of  mutilation  or  burning  of  the  body 
being  common,  every  text  assumes  that  the  body  is 
to  be  buried  whole ;  this  fact  indicates  a  reversal  of 
the  custom  of  mutilation  or  burning,  which  must  have 


THE  BODY  AND  THE  KA. 


1 63 

been  in  use,  however,  for  a  considerable  time.  It  is 
to  this  reversal  that  we  probably  owe  such  passages 
as,  “  0  flesh  of  Pepi,  rot  not,  decay  not,  stink  not ;  ” 
“  Pepi  goeth  forth  with  his  flesh  ;  ”  “  thy  bones  shall 
not  be  destroyed,  and  thy  flesh  shall  not  perish,” 1  etc. ; 
and  they  denote  a  return  to  the  views  and  ways  of 
the  earliest  people  known  to  us  in  Egypt. 

In  the  interval  which  elapsed  between  the  period 
of  the  prehistoric  burials  and  the  IVth  dynasty,  the 
Egyptian  formulated  certain  theories  about  the  com¬ 
ponent  parts  of  his  own  body,  and  we  must  consider 
these  briefly  before  we  can  describe  the  form  in  which 
the  dead  were  believed  to  rise.  The  physical  body 
of  a  man  was  called  khat,  a  word  which  indicates 
something  in  which  decay  is  inherent;  it  was  this 
which  was  buried  in  the  tomb  after  mummification, 
and  its  preservation  from  destruction  of  every  kind 
was  the  object  of  all  amulets,  magical  ceremonies, 
prayers,  and  formulae,  from  the  earliest  to  the  latest 
times.  The  god  Osiris  even  possessed  such  a  body, 
and  its  various  members  were  preserved  as  relics  in 
several  shrines  in  Egypt.  Attached  to  the  body  in 
some  remarkable  way  was  the  KA,  or  “  double,”  of  a 
man ;  it  may  be  defined  as  an  abstract  individuality 
or  personality  which  was  endowed  with  all  his  cha¬ 
racteristic  attributes,  and  it  possessed  an  absolutely 
independent  existence.  It  was  free  to  move  from 

1  See  Recueil  cle  Travaux ,  tom.  v.  pp.  55,  185  (lines  169,  347,  353), 


164  THE  KA  AND  THE  SOUL. 

place  to  place  upon  earth  at  will,  and  it  could  enter 
heaven  and  hold  converse  with  the  gods.  The  offerings 
made  in  the  tombs  at  all  periods  were  intended  for 
the  nourishment  of  the  ka,  and  it  was  supposed  to 
be  able  to  eat  and  drink  and  to  enjoy  the  odour  of 
incense.  In  the  earliest  times  a  certain  portion  of  the 
tomb  was  set  apart  for  the  use  of  the  ka,  and  the 
religious  organization  of  the  period  ordered  that  a 
class  of  priests  should  perform  ceremonies  and  recite 
prayers  at  stated  seasons  for  the  benefit  of  the  ka 
in  the  ka  chapel;  these  men  were  known  as  “ka 
priests.”  In  the  period  when  the  pyramids  were 
built  it  was  firmly  believed  that  the  deceased,  in  some 
form,  was  able  to  be  purified,  and  to  sit  down  and  to 
eat  bread  with  it  “  unceasingly  and  for  ever ;  ”  and 
the  ka  who  was  not  supplied  with  a  sufficiency  of  food 
in  the  shape  of  offerings  of  bread,  cakes,  flowers,  fruit, 
wine,  ale,  and  the  like,  was  in  serious  danger  of 
starvation. 

The  soul  was  called  ba,  and  the  ideas  which  the 
Egyptians  held  concerning  it  are  somewhat  difficult 
to  reconcile ;  the  meaning  of  the  word  seems  to  be 
something  like  “  sublime,”  “  noble,”  “  mighty.”  The 
ba  dwelt  in  the  ka,  and  seems  to  have  had  the  power 
of  becoming  corporeal  or  incorporeal  at  will ;  it  had 
both  substance  and  form,  and  is  frequently  depicted 
on  the  papyri  and  monuments  as  a  human-headed 
hawk;  in  nature  and  substance  it  is  stated  to  be 


THE  HEART,  SPIRIT  AND  SHADOW.  165 

ethereal.  It  had  the  power  to  leave  the  tomb,  and 
to  pass  up  into  heaven  where  it  was  believed  to  enjoy 
an  eternal  existence  in  a  state  of  glory;  it  could, 
however,  and  did,  revisit  the  body  in  the  tomb,  and 
fiorn  certain  texts  it  seems  that  it  could  re-animate 
it  and  hold  converse  with  it.  Like  the  heart  ab  it 
was,  in  some  respects,  the  seat  of  life  in  man.  The 
souls  of  the  blessed  dead  dwelt  in  heaven  with  the 

gods,  and  they  partook  of  all  the  celestial  enjoyments 
for  ever. 

The  spiritual  intelligence,  or  spirit,  of  a  man  was 
called  khu,  and  it  seems  to  have  taken  form  as  a 
shining,  luminous,  intangible  shape  of  the  body ;  the 
khus  foimed  a  class  of  celestial  beings  who  lived  with 
the  gods,  but  their  functions  are  not  clear.  The  khu 
like  the  ka,  could  be  imprisoned  in  the  tomb,  and 
to  obviate  this  catastrophe  special  formulae  were  com¬ 
posed  and  duly  recited.  Besides  the  khu  another  very 
important  part  of  a  man  s  entity  went  into  heaven, 
namely,  his  sekhem.  The  word  literally  means  “  to 
have  the  mastery  over  something/’  and,  as  used  in  the 
early  texts,  that  which  enables  one  to  have  the  mastery 
over  something,  i.e.,  “power.”  The  sekhem  of  a  man 
was,  apparently,  his  vital  force  or  strength  personified, 
and  the  Egyptians  believed  that  it  could  and  did,' 
under  certain  conditions,  follow  him  that  possessed 
it  upon  earth  into  heaven.  Another  part  of  a  man 
was  the  khaibit  or  “shadow,”  which  is  frequently 


1 66  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  A  NAME. 

mentioned  in  connexion  with  the  soul  and,  in  late 
times,  was  always  thought  to  be  near  it.  Finally 
we  may  mention  the  ren,  or  “  name  ”  of  a  man,  as 
one  of  his  most  important  constituent  parts.  The 
Egyptians,  in  common  with  all  Eastern  nations,  attached 
the  greatest  importance  to  the  preservation  of  the 
name,  and  any  person  who  effected  the  blotting  out 
of  a  man’s  name  was  thought  to  have  destroyed  him 
also.  Like  the  ka  it  was  a  portion  of  a  man’s  most 
special  identity,  and  it  is  easy  to  see  why  so  much 
importance  grew  to  be  attached  to  it ;  a  nameless 
being  could  not  be  introduced  to  the  gods,  and  as 
no  created  thing  exists  without  a  name  the  man  who 
had  no  name  was  in  a  worse  position  before  the  divine 
powers  than  the  feeblest  inanimate  object.  To  per¬ 
petuate  the  name  of  a  father  was  a  good  son’s  duty, 
and  to  keep  the  tombs  of  the  dead  in  good  repair 
so  that  all  might  read  the  names  of  those  who  were 
buried  in  them  was  a  most  meritorious  act.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  the  deceased  knew  the  names  of  divine 
beings,  whether  friends  or  foes,  and  could  pronounce 
them,  he  at  once  obtained  power  over  them,  and  was 
able  to  make  them  perform  his  will. 

We  have  seen  that  the  entity  of  a  man  consisted  of 
body,  double,  soul,  heart,  spiritual  intelligence  or  spirit, 
power,  shadow,  and  name.  These  eight  parts  may  be 
reduced  to  three  by  leaving  out  of  consideration  the 
double,  heart,  power,  shadow  and  name  as  representing 


THE  BODY  REMAINS  ON  EARTH.  167 

beliefs  which  were  produced  by  the  Egyptian  as  he  was 
slowly  ascending  the  scale  of  civilization,  and  as  being 
the  peculiar  product  of  his  race  ;  we  may  then  say  that 
a  man  consisted  of  body,  soul,  and  spirit.  But  did  all 
three  rise,  and  live  in  the  world  beyond  the  grave  ? 
The  Egyptian  texts  answer  this  question  definitely ; 
the  soul  and  the  spirit  of  the  righteous  passed  from 
the  body  and  lived  with  the  beatified  and  the  gods  in 
heaven ;  but  the  physical  body  did  not  rise  again,  and 
it  was  believed  never  to  leave  the  tomb.  There  were 
ignorant  people  in  Egypt  who,  no  doubt,  believed  in 
the  resurrection  of  the  corruptible  body,  and  who 
imagined  that  the  new  life  would  be,  after  all,  some¬ 
thing  very  much  like  a  continuation  of  that  which  they 
were  living  in  this  world;  but  the  Egyptian  who 
followed  the  teaching  of  his  sacred  writings  knew  that 
such  beliefs  were  not  consistent  with  the  views  of 
their  priests  and  of  educated  people  in  general.  Already 
in  the  Yth  dynasty,  about  b.c.  3400,  it  is  stated 
definitely : — 

“  The  soul  to  heaven,  the  body  to  earth ;  ”  1 
and  three  thousand  years  later  the  Egyptian  writer 
declared  the  same  thing,  but  in  different  words,  when 
he  wrote  : — 2 

“  Heaven  hath  thy  soul,  and  earth  thy  body.” 

The  Egyptian  hoped,  among  other  things,  that  he 

1  Recueil  de  Travaux,  tom.  iv.  p.  71  (1.  582). 

2  Horrack,  Lamentations  d'Isis,  Paris,  1866,  p.  6. 


1 06  THE  RENEWAL  OF  THE  BODY. 

would  sail  over  the  sky  in  the  boat  of  Ba,  but  he  knew 
well  that  he  could  not  do  this  in  his  mortal  body ;  he 
believed  firmly  that  he  would  live  for  millions  of  years, 
but  with  the  experience  of  the  human  race  before  him 
he  knew  that  this  also  was  impossible  if  the  body  in 
which  he  was  to  live  was  that  in  which  he  had  lived 
upon  earth.  At  first  he  thought  that  his  physical  body 
might,  after  the  manner  of  the  sun,  be  “  renewed  daily,” 
and  that  his  new  life  would  resemble  that  of  that 
emblem  of  the  Sun-god  Ba  with  which  he  sought  to 
identify  himself.  Later,  however,  his  experience  taught 
him  that  the  best  mummified  body  was  sometimes 
destroyed,  either  by  damp,  or  dry  rot,  or  decay  in  one 
foim  or  anothei,  and  that  mummification  alone  was 
not  sufficient  to  ensure  resurrection  or  the  attainment 
of  the  future  life ;  and,  in  brief,  he  discovered  that  by 
no  human  means  could  that  which  is  corruptible  by 
nature  be  made  to  become  incorruptible,  for  the  very 
animals  in  which  the  gods  themselves  were  incarnate 
became  sick  and  died  in  their  appointed  season.  It  is 
hard  to  say  why  the  Egyptians  continued  to  mummify 
the  dead  since  there  is  good  reason  for  knowing  that 
they  did  not  expect  the  physical  body  to  rise  again.  It 
may  be  that  they  thought  its  preservation  necessary  for 
the  welfare  of  the  ka,  or  “  double,”  and  for  the 
development  of  a  new  body  from  it ;  also  the  continued 
custom  may  have  been  the  result  of  intense  conserva¬ 
tism.  But  whatever  the  reason,  the  Egyptian  never 


THOTH  AND  ISIS. 


169 


ceased  to  take  every  possible  precaution  to  preserve  the 
dead  body  intact,  and  he  sought  for  help  in  his  trouble 
from  another  source. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  when  Isis  found  the  dead 
body  of  her  husband  Osiris,  she  at  once  set  to  work  to 
protect  it.  She  drove  away  the  foes,  and  made  the  ill- 
luck  which  had  come  upon  it  to  be  of  no  effect.  In 
order  to  bring  about  this  result  “  she  made  strong  her 
speech  with  all  the  strength  of  her  mouth,  she  was 
perfect  of  tongue,  and  she  halted  not  in  her  speech,” 
and  she  pronounced  a  series  of  words  or  formulae  with 
which  Thoth  had  provided  her ;  thus  she  succeeded  in 
“  stirring  up  the  inactivity  of  the  Still-heart  ”  and  in 
accomplishing  her  desire  in  respect  of  him.  Her  cries, 
prompted  by  love  and  grief,  would  have  had  no  effect 
on  the  dead  body  unless  they  had  been  accompanied  by 
the  words  of  Thoth,  which  she  uttered  with  boldness 
(Jehu),  and  understanding  (aqer),  and  without  fault  in 
pronunciation  (an-uh).  The  Egyptian  of  old  kept  this 
fact  in  his  mind,  and  determined  to  procure  the  resur¬ 
rection  of  his  friends  and  relatives  by  the  same  means 
as  Isis  employed,  i.e.,  the  formulae  of  Thoth ;  with  this 
object  in  view  each  dead  person  was  provided  with  a 
series  of  texts,  either  written  upon  his  coffin,  or  upon 
papyri  and  amulets,  which  would  have  the  same  effect 
as  the  words  of  Thoth  which  were  spoken  by  Isis.  But 
the  relatives  of  the  deceased  had  also  a  duty  to  perform 
in  this  matter,  and  that  was  to  provide  for  the  recital 


170 


THE  SPIRITUAL  BODY. 


of  certain  prayers,  and  for  the  performance  of  a  number 
of  symbolical  ceremonies  over  the  dead  body  before  it 
was  laid  to  rest  finally  in  the  tomb.  A  sacrifice  had  to 
be  offered  up,  and  the  deceased  and  his  friends  and 
relatives  assisted  at  it,  and  each  ceremony  was  accom¬ 
panied  by  its  proper  prayers ;  when  all  had  been  done 
and  said  according  to  the  ordinances  of  the  priests,  the 
body  was  taken  to  its  place  in  the  mummy  chamber. 
But  the  words  of  Thoth  and  the  prayers  of  the  priests 
caused  the  body  to  become  changed  into  a  “  sahu,”  or 
incorruptible,  spiritual  body,  which  passed  straightway 
out  of  the  tomb  and  made  its  way  to  heaven  where  it 
dwelt  with  the  gods.  When  in  the  Book  of  the  Dead 
the  deceased  says,  “  I  exist,  I  exist;  I  live,  I  live;  I 
germinate,  I  germinate,1 ”  1  and  again,  “  I  germinate  like 
the  plants/’ 2  the  deceased  does  not  mean  that  his 
physical  body  is  putting  forth  the  beginnings  of  another 
body  like  the  old  one,  but  a  spiritual  body  which  “  hath 
neither  defect  nor,  like  Ba,  shall  suffer  diminution  for 
ever.”  Into  the  sahu  passed  the  soul  which  had  lived 
in  the  body  of  a  man  upon  earth,  and  it  seems  as  if  the 
new,  incorruptible  body  formed  the  dwelling-place  of 
the  soul  in  heaven  just  as  the  physical  body  had  been 
its  earthly  abode.  The  reasons  why  the  Egyptians 
continued  to  mummify  their  dead  is  thus  apparent; 
they  did  not  do  so  believing  that  their  physical  bodies 
would  rise  again,  but  because  they  wished  the  spiritual 

See  Cliap.  cliv.  2  See  Chap,  lxxxviii.  3. 


THE  SPIRITUAL  BODY. 


I/I 

body  to  “  sprout  ”  or  “  germinate  ”  from  them,  and  if 
possible — at  least  it  seems  so — to  be  in  the  form  of 
the  physical  body.  In  this  way  did  the  dead  rise 
according  to  the  Egyptians,  and  in  this  body  did  they 
come. 

From  what  has  been  said  above,  it  will  be  seen  that 
there  is  no  reason  for  doubting  the  antiquity  of  the 
Egyptian  belief  in  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  and  in 
immortality,  and  the  general  evidence  derived  both 
from  archaeological  and  religious  considerations  sup¬ 
ports  this  view.  As  old,  however,  as  this  belief  in 
general  is  the  specific  belief  in  a  spiritual  body  (sah  or 
sahu);  for  we  find  it  in  texts  of  the  Vth  dynasty 
incorporated  with  ideas  which  belong  to  the  pre-historic 
Egyptian  in  his  savage  or  semi-savage  state.  One 
remarkable  extract  will  prove  this  point.  In  the 
funeral  chapters  which  are  inscribed  on  the  walls  of  the 
chambers  and  passages  inside  the  pyramid  of  King 
Unas,  who  flourished  at  the  end  of  the  Yth  dynasty, 
about  B.c.  3300,  is  a  passage  in  which  the  deceased 
king  terrifies  all  the  powers  of  heaven  and  earth  because 
he  “  riseth  as  a  soul  (ba)  in  the  form  of  the  god  who 
liveth  upon  his  fathers  and  who  maketh  food  of  his 
mothers.  Unas  is  the  lord  of  wisdom  and  his  mother 
knoweth  not  his  name.  He  hath  become  mighty  like 
unto  the  god  Temu,  the  father  who  gave  him  birth,  and 
after  Temu  gave  him  birth  he  became  stronger  than  his 
father.”  The  king  is  likened  unto  a  Bull,  and  he 


172  THE  DECEASED  EATS  HIS  GODS. 

feedeth  upon  every  god,  whatever  may  be  the  form  in 
which  he  appeareth ;  “  he  hath  weighed  words  with  the 
god  whose  name  is  hidden,”  and  he  devoureth  men  and 
liveth  upon  gods.  The  dead  king  is  then  said  to  set 
out  to  hunt  the  gods  in  their  meadows,  and  when  he 
has  caught  them  with  nooses,  he  causes  them  to  be 
slain.  They  are  next  cooked  in  blazing  cauldrons,  the 
greatest  for  his  morning  meal,  the  lesser  for  his  evening 
meal,  and  the  least  for  his  midnight  meal ;  the  old  gods 
and  goddesses  serve  as  fuel  for  his  cooking  pots.  In 
this  way,  having  swallowed  the  magical  powers  and 
spirits  of  the  gods,  he  becomes  the  Great  Power  of 
Powers  among  the  gods,  and  the  greatest  of  the  gods 
who  appear  in  visible  forms.  “  Whatever  he  hath 
found  upon  his  path  he  hath  consumed,  and  his  strength 
is  greater  than  that  of  any  spiritual  body  (sahu)  in  the 
horizon;  he  is  the  firstborn  of  all  the  firstborn,  and 
.  .  .  he  hath  carried  off  the  hearts  of  the  gods.  ...  He 
hath  eaten  the  wisdom  of  every  god,  and  his  period  of 
existence  is  everlasting,  and  his  life  shall  be  unto  all 
eternity,  ...  for  the  souls  and  the  spirits  of  the  gods 
are  in  him.” 

We  have,  it  is  clear,  in  this  passage  an  allusion  to 
the  custom  of  savages  of  all  nations  and  periods,  of 
eating  portions  of  the  bodies  of  valiant  foes  whom  they 
have  vanquished  in  war  in  order  to  absorb  their  virtues 
and  strength ;  the  same  habit  has  also  obtained  in  some 
places  in  respect  of  animals.  In  the  case  of  the  gods 


BELIEF  IN  ETERNAL  LIFE. 


173 

the  deceased  is  made  to  covet  their  one  peculiar 
attribute,  that  is  to  say,  everlasting  life ;  and  when  he 
has  absorbed  their  souls  and  spirits  he  is  declared  to 
have  obtained  all  that  makes  him  superior  to  every 
other  spiritual  body  in  strength  and  in  length  of  life. 
The  “  magical  powers  ”  {helm),  which  the  king  is  also 
said  to  have  “  eaten,  are  the  words  and  formulae,  the 
utterance  of  which  by  him,  in  whatever  circumstances  he 
may  be  placed,  will  cause  every  being,  friendly  or  un- 
Iriendly,  to  do  his  will.  But  apart  from  any  question  of 
the  slaughter  of  the  gods  the  Egyptians  declared  of  this 
same  king,  “  Behold,  thou  hast  not  gone  as  one  dead, 
but  as  one  living,  to  sit  upon  the  throne  of  Osiris  ;  ”  * 
and  in  a  papyrus  written  nearly  two  thousand  years 
later  the  deceased  himself  says,  “  My  soul  is  God,  my 
soul  is  eternity,” 2  a  clear  proof  that  the  ideas  of  the 
existence  of  God  and  of  eternity  were  identical.  Yet 
one  other  example  is  worth  quoting,  if  only  to  show  the 
care  that  the  writers  of  religious  texts  took  to  impress 
the  immortality  of  the  soul  upon  their  readers.  Accord¬ 
ing  to  Chapter  CLXXV.  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  the 
deceased  finds  himself  in  a  place  where  there  is  neither 
water  nor  air,  and  where  "  it  is  depth  unfathomable,  it  is 
black  as  the  blackest  night,  and  men  wander  helplessly 
therein.  In  it  a  man  may  not  live  in  quietness  of 
heart,  nor  may  the  longings  of  love  be  satisfied  therein. 

1  Recueil  de  Travaux,  tom.  y.  p.  167  (1.  65). 

*  Papyrus  of  Ani,  Plate  28,  1.  15  (Chapter  lxxxiv.). 


174 


BELIEF  IN  ETERNAL  LIFE. 


But,”  says  the  deceased  to  the  god  Thoth,  “  let  the  state 
of  the  spirits  be  given  unto  me  instead  of  water,  and 
air,  and  the  satisfying  of  the  longings  of  love,  and  let 
quietness  of  heart  he  given  unto  me  instead  of  cakes 
and  ale.  The  god  Temu  hath  decreed  that  I  shall  see 
thy  face,  and  that  I  shall  not  suffer  from  the  things 
which  pained  thee  5  may  every  god  transmit  unto  thee 
[0  Osiris]  his  throne  for  millions  of  years !  Thy  throne 
hath  descended  unto  thy  son  Horus,  and  the  god  Temu 
hath  decreed  that  his  course  shall  be  among  the  holy 
princes.  Verily  he  shall  rule  over  thy  throne,  and  he 
shall  be  heir  of  the  throne  of  the  Dweller  in  the  Lake 
of  the  Two  Fires.  Verily  it  hath  been  decreed  that  in 
me  he  shall  see  his  likeness,1  and  that  my  face  shall  look 
upon  the  face  of  the  lord  Tern”  After  reciting  these 
words,  the  deceased  asks  Thoth,  “  How  long  have  I  to 
live  ?  ”  and  the  god  replies,  “  It  is  decreed  that  thou 
shalt  live  for  millions  of  millions  of  years,  a  life  of 
millions  of  years.”  To  give  emphasis  and  additional 
effect  to  his  words  the  god  is  made  to  speak  tautologi¬ 
cally  so  that  the  most  unlettered  man  may  not  miss 
their  meaning.  A  little  later  in  the  Chapter  the 
deceased  says,  “  0  my  father  Osiris,  thou  hast  done  for 
me  that  which  thy  father  Ba  did  for  thee.  So  shall 
I  abide  on  the  earth  lastingly,  I  shall  keep  possession 
of  my  seat ;  my  heir  shall  be  strong  ;  my  tomb  and  my 
friends  who  are  upon  earth  shall  flourish ;  my  enemies 

1  Le.y  I  shall  be  like  Horus,  the  son  of  Osiris. 


CELESTIAL  FOOD. 


175 


shall  be  given  over  to  destruction  and  to  the  shackles  of 
the  goddess  Serq.  I  am  thy  son,  and  Ba  is  my  father ; 
for  me  likewise  thou  shalt  make  life,  and  strength,  and 
health !  ”  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  deceased 
first  identifies  Osiris  with  Ba,  and  then  he  identifies 
himself  with  Osiris ;  thus  he  identifies  himself  with  Ba. 

With  the  subjects  of  resurrection  and  immortality 
must  be  mentioned  the  frequent  references  in  the 
religious  texts  of  all  periods  to  the  meat  and  drink 
on  which  lived  the  beings  who  were  believed  to  exist 
in  the  world  beyond  the  grave.  In  prehistoric  days 
it  was  natural  enough  for  the  dead  man’s  friends  to 
place  food  in  his  grave,  because  they  thought  that  he 
would  require  it  on  his  journey  to  the  next  world ;  this 
custom  also  presupposed  that  the  deceased  would  have 
a  body  like  unto  that  which  he  had  left  behind  him 
in  this  world,  and  that  it  would  need  food  and  drink. 
In  the  Yth  dynasty  the  Egyptians  believed  that  the 
blessed  dead  lived  upon  celestial  food,  and  that  they 
suffered  neither  hunger  nor  thirst ;  they  ate  what  the 
gods  ate,  they  drank  what  they  drank,  they  were  what 
they  were,  and  became  in  such  matters  as  these  the 
counterparts  of  the  gods.  In  another  passage  we 
read  that  they  are  apparelled  in  white  linen,  that 
they  wear  white  sandals,  and  that  they  go  to  the  great 
lake  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  Field  of  Peace 
whereon  the  great  gods  sit,  and  that  the  gods  give 
them  to  eat  of  the  food  (or  tree)  of  life  of  which  they 


176  THE  ELYSIAN  FIELDS. 

themselves  eat  that  they  also  may  live.  It  is  certain, 
however,  that  other  views  than  these  were  held  con¬ 
cerning  the  food  of  the  dead,  for  already  in  the  Vth 
dynasty  the  existence  of  a  region  called  Sekhet-Aaru, 
or  Sekhet-Aanru  had  been  formulated,  and  to  this 
place  the  soul,  or  at  least  some  part,  of  the  pious 
Egyptian  hoped  to  make  its  way.  Where  Sekhet- 
Aaru  was  situated  we  have  no  means  of  saying,  and 
the  texts  afford  us  no  clue  as  to  its  whereabouts  ;  some 
scholars  think  that  it  lay  away  to  the  east  of  Egypt, 
but  it  is  far  more  likely  to  represent  some  district  of 
the  Delta  either  in  its  northern  or  north-eastern  portion. 
Fortunately  we  have  a  picture  of  it  in  the  Papyrus 
of  Nebseni,1  the  oldest  probably  on  papyrus,  and  from 
this  we  may  see  that  Sekhet-Aaru,  i.e.,  the  “Field  of 
Reeds,”  typified  some  very  fertile  region  where  farming 
operations  could  be  carried  on  with  ease  and  success. 
Canals  and  watercourses  abound,  and  in  one  section, 
we  are  told,  the  spirits  of  the  blessed  dwelt;  the 
picture  probably  represents  a  traditional  “  Paradise  ” 
or  “Elysian  Fields,”  and  the  general  characteristics 
of  this  happy  land  are  those-  of  a  large,  well-kept,  and 
well-stocked  homestead,  situated  at  no  great  distance 
from  the  Nile  or  one  of  its  main  branches.  In  the 
Papyrus  of  Nebseni  the  divisions  of  the  Sekhet-Aaru 
contain  the  following  : — 

1  Brit.  Mus.,  No.  9900;  this  document  belongs  to  tlie  XVIIIth 
dynasty. 


:<«««««««^<<<««<«^<| 


The  Elysian  Fields  of  the  Egyptians  according  to  the  Papyrus  of  Nebseni  (X  VTIIth  dynasty). 


N 


THE  ELYSIAN  FIELDS. 


179 

1.  Nebseni,  the  scribe  and  artist  of  the  Temple  of 

Ptah,  with  his  arms  hanging  by  his  sides,  entering  the 
Elysian  Fields. 

2.  Nebseni  making  an  offering  of  incense  to  the 
“  great  company  of  the  gods.” 

3.  Nebseni  seated  in  a  boat  paddling;  above  the 
boat  are  three  symbols  for  “  city.” 

4.  Nebseni  addressing  a  bearded  mummied 
figure. 

5.  Three  Pools  or  Lakes  called  Urti,  Hetep,  and 
Qetqet. 

6.  Hebseni  reaping  in  Sekhet-hetepet. 

7.  Nebseni  grasping  the  Bennu  bird,  which  is 

perched  upon  a  stand;  in  front  are  three  kau  and 
three  khu. 

8.  iSebseni  seated  and  smelling  a  flower;  the  text 

reads  :  “  Thousands  of  all  good  and  pure  things  to  the 
ka  of  Nebseni.” 

9.  A  table  of  offerings. 

10.  Four  Pools  or  Lakes  called  Nebt-taui,  Uakha, 
Kha  (?),  and  Hetep. 

11.  Nebseni  ploughing  with  oxen  by  the  side  of  a 
stream  which  is  one  thousand  [measures]  in  length, 

and  the  width  of  which  cannot  be  said ;  in  it  there  are 
neither  fish  nor  worms. 

12.  Nebseni  ploughing  with  oxen  on  an  island  “the 
length  of  which  is  the  length  of  heaven.” 

13.  A  division  shaped  like  a  bowl,  in  which  is 


jgo  THE  ELYSIAN  FIELDS. 

inscribed :  “  The  birthplace  (?)  of  the  god  of  the  city 
Qenqentet  Nebt.” 

14.  An  island  whereon  are  four  gods  and  a  flight  of 
steps ;  the  legend  reads :  “  The  great  company  of  the 

gods  who  are  in  Sekhet-hetep.” 

15.  The  boat  Tchetetfet,  with  eight  oars,  four  at  the 
bows,  and  four  at  the  stern,  floating  at  the  end  of  a 
canal ;  in  it  is  a  flight  of  steps.  The  place  where  it  lies 

is  called  the  “  Domain  of  Neth.” 

16.  Two  Pools,  the  names  of  which  are  illegible. 

The  scene  as  given  in  the  Papyrus  of  Ani 1  gives  some 

interesting  variants  and  may  be  described  thus : — 

1.  Ani  making  an  offering  before  a  hare-headed  god, 
a  snake-headed  god,  and  a  bull-headed  god  ,  behind 
him  stand  his  wife  Thuthu  and  Thoth  holding  his  reed 
and  palette.  Ani  paddling  a  boat.  Ani  addressing  a 
hawk,  before  which  are  a  table  of  offerings,  a  statue, 
three  ovals,  and  the  legend,  “  Being  at  peace  in  the 
Field,  and  having  air  for  the  nostrils.” 

2.  Ani  reaping  corn,  Ani  driving  the  oxen  which 
tread  out  the  corn;  Ani  addressing  (or  adoring)  a 
Bennu  bird  perched  on  a  stand  ;  Ani  seated  holding 
the  hherp  sceptre ;  a  heap  of  red  and  a  heap  of  white 
corn;  three  KAU  and  three  KHU,  which  are  perhaps 
to  be  read,  “  the  food  of  the  spirits ;  ”  and  three 
Pools. 

3.  Ani  ploughing  a  field  near  a  stream  which  contains 

1  Brit.  Mus.,  No.  10,470,  Plate  35. 


The  Elysian  Fields  of  the  Egyptians  according  to  the  Papyrus  of  Ani  (XVllIth  dynasty). 


THE  ELYSIAN  FIELDS.  1 83 

neither  fish,  nor  serpents,  nor  worms  of  any  kind  what¬ 
soever. 

4.  The  birthplace  of  the  “  god  of  the  city  ;  ”  an  island 
on  which  is  a  flight  of  steps ;  a  region  called  the  “  place 
of  the  spirits”  who  are  seven  cubits  high,  where  the 
wheat  is  three  cubits  high,  and  where  the  sahu,  or 
spiritual  bodies,  reap  it ;  the  region  Ashet,  the  god 
who  dwelleth  therein  being  Un-nefer  ( i.e .,  a  form  of 
Osiris) ;  a  boat  with  eight  oars  lying  at  the  end  of  a 
canal ;  and  a  boat  floating  on  a  canal.  The  name  of 
the  first  boat  is  Behutu-tcheser,  and  that  of  the  second 
Tchefau. 

So  far  we  have  seen  that  in  heaven  and  in  the  world 
beyond  the  grave  the  deceased  has  found  only  divine 
beings,  and  the  doubles,  and  the  souls,  and  the  spirits, 
and  the  spiritual  bodies  of  the  blessed ;  but  no  refer¬ 
ence  has  been  made  to  the  possibility  of  the  dead 
recognizing  each  other,  or  being  able  to  continue  the 
friendships  or  relationships  which  they  had  when 
upon  earth.  In  the  Sekhet-Aaru  the  case  is,  however, 
different,  for  there  we  have  reason  to  believe  relation¬ 
ships  were  recognized  and  rejoiced  in.  Thus  in 
Chapter  LII.  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead,  which  was 
composed  with  the  idea  of  the  deceased,  from  lack  of 
proper  food  in  the  underworld,  being  obliged  to  eat 
filth,1  and  with  the  object  of  preventing  such  an  awful 

1  This  idea  is  a  survival  of  prehistoric  times,  when  it  was  thought 
that  if  the  proper  sepulchral  meals  were  not  deposited  at  regular 


I  $4  THE  FOOD  OF  THE  DECEASED. 

thing,  the  deceased  says  :  “  That  which  is  an  abomina¬ 
tion  unto  me,  that  which  is  an  abomination  unto  me, 
let  me  not  eat.  That  which  is  an  abomination  unto 
me,  that  which  is  an  abomination  unto  me,  is  filth ; 
let  me  not  be  obliged  to  eat  thereof  in  the  place  of  the 
sepulchral  cakes  which  are  offered  unto  the  katj 
(i.e.,  “  doubles  ”).  Let  it  not  touch  my  body,  let  me 
not  be  obliged  to  hold  it  in  my  hands  ;  and  let  me  not 
be  compelled  to  tread  thereon  in  my  sandals.” 

Some  being  or  beings,  probably  the  gods,  then  ask 
him,  “  What,  now,  wilt  thou  live  upon  in  the  presence 
of  the  gods  ?  ”  And  he  replies,  “  Let  food  come  to 
me  from  the  place  of  food,  and  let  me  live  upon  the 
seven  loaves  of  bread  which  shall  be  brought  as  food 
before  Horus,  and  upon  the  bread  which  is  brought 
before  Thoth.  And  when  the  gods  shall  say  unto  me, 

‘  What  manner  of  food  wouldst  thou  have  given  unto 
thee  ?  ’  I  will  reply,  ‘  Let  me  eat  my  food  under  the 
sycamore  tree  of  my  lady,  the  goddess  Hathor,  and 
let  my  times  be  among  the  divine  beings  who  have 
alighted  thereon.  Let  me  have  the  power  to  order 
my  own  fields  in  Tattu  (Busiris),  and  my  own  growing- 
crops  in  Annu.  Let  me  live  upon  bread  made  of 
white  grain,  and  let  my  beer  be  made  from  red  grain, 
and  may  the  persons  of  my  father  and  mother  be 

intervals  where  the  ka,  or  “  double,”  of  the  deceased  could  get  at 
them  it  would  be  obliged  to  wander  about  and  pick  up  whatever  it 
might  lind  to  eat  upon  its  road. 


LOCATION  OF  THE  ELYSIAN  FIELDS.  1 85 

given  unto  me  as  guardians  of  my  door,  and  for  the 
ordering  of  my  homestead.  Let  me  be  sound  and 
strong,  and  let  me  have  much  room  wherein  to  move, 
and  let  me  be  able  to  sit  wheresoever  I  please.’’ 

This  Chapter  is  most  important  as  showing  that  the 
deceased  wished  to  have  his  homestead  and  its  fields 
situated  in  Tattu,  that  is  to  say,  near  the  capital  of 
the  Busirite  or  IXth  nome  of  Lower  Egypt,  a  district 
not  far  from  the  city  of  Semennud  (i.e.,  Sebennytus) 
and  lying  a  little  to  the  south  of  the  thirty-first  parallel 
of  latitude.  It  was  here  that  the  reconstitution  of  the 
dismembered  body  of  Osiris  took  place,  and  it  was 
here  that  the  solemn  ceremony  of  setting  up  the 
backbone  of  Osiris  was  performed  each  year.  The 
original  Sekhet-Aaru  was  evidently  placed  here,  and 
we  are  therefore  right  in  assuming  that  the  fertile 
fields  of  this  part  of  the  Delta  formed  the  prototype 
of  the  Elysian  Fields  of  the  Egyptian.  At  the  same 
time  he  also  wished  to  reap  crops  on  the  fields  round 
about  Heliopolis,  the  seat  of  the  greatest  and  most 
ancient  shrine  of  the  Sun-god.  The  white  grain  of 
which  he  would  have  his  bread  made  is  the  ordinary 
dhura,  and  the  red  grain  is  the  red  species  of  the  same 
plant,  which  is  not  so  coifTmon  as  the  white.  As 
keepers  of  the  door  of  his  estate  the  deceased  asks  for 
the  “  forms  (or  persons)  of  his  father  and  his  mother;’ 
and  thus  we  see  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the  Egyptian 
to  continue  the  family  life  which  he  began  upon  earth ; 


1 86  THE  DEAD  RECOGNIZE  EACH  OTHER. 


it  goes  almost  without  saying  that  he  would  not  ask 
this  thing  if  he  thought  there  would  be  no  prospect 
of  knowing  his  parents  in  the  next  world.  An  interest¬ 
ing  proof  of  this  is  afforded  by  the  picture  of  the 
Sekhet-Aaru,  or  Elysian  Fields,  which  is  given  in  the 
Papyrus  of  Anhai,1  a  priestess  of  Amen  who  lived 
probably  about  B.c.  1000.  Here  we  see  the  deceased 
entering  into  the  topmost  section  of  the  district  and 
addressing  two  divine  persons ;  above  one  of  these 
are  written  the  words  “  her  mother,”  followed  by  the 
name  Neferitu.  The  form  which  comes  next  is  pro¬ 
bably  that  of  her  father,  and  thus  we  are  sure  that 
the  Egyptians  believed  they  would  meet  their  rela¬ 
tives  in  the  next  world  and  know  and  be  known 
by  them. 

Accompanying  the  picture  of  the  Elysian  Fields  is 
a  long  text  which  forms  Chapter  CX.  of  the  Book 
of  the  Dead.  As  it  supplies  a  great  deal  of  information 
concerning  the  views  held  in  early  times  about  that 
region,  and  throws  so  much  light  upon  the  semi¬ 
material  life  which  the  pious  Egyptians,  at  one  period 
of  their  history,  hoped  to  lead,  a  rendering  of  it  is 
here  given.  It  is  entitled,  “The  Chapters  of  Sekhet- 
Hetepet,  and  the  Chapters  of  Coming  Forth  by  Day ; 
of  going  into  and  of  coming  forth  from  the  underworld ; 
of  coming  to  Sekhet-Aaru ;  of  being  in  Sekhet-Hetepet, 
the  mighty  land,  the  lady  of  winds ;  of  having  power 


Brit.  Mus.,  No.  10,472. 


Anhui  bowing  before  her  father  and  mother. 


The  Elysian  Fields.  From  the  Papyrus  of  Anhai  (XXlIud  dynasty). 


THE  ELYSIAN  FIELDS. 


189 


there ;  of  becoming  a  spirit  (khu)  there ;  of  reaping 
there ;  of  eating  there ;  of  drinking  there ;  of  making 
love  there ;  and  of  doing  everything  even  as  a  man 
doeth  upon  the  earth.”  The  deceased  says : — 

“  Set  hath  seized  Horus,  who  looked  with  the  two 
eyes1  upon  the  building  (?)  round  Sekhet-hetep,  but 
I  have  released  Horus  [and  taken  him  from]  Set,  and 
Set  hath  opened  the  path  of  the  two  eyes  [which  are] 
in  heaven.  Set  hath  cast  (?)  his  moisture  to  the  winds 
upon  the  soul  that  hath  his  day,  and  that  dwelleth 
in  the  city  of  Mert,  and  he  hath  delivered  the  interior 
of  the  body  of  Horus  from  the  gods  of  Akert. 

“Behold  me  now,  for  I  make  this  mighty  boat  to 
travel  over  the  Lake  of  Hetep,  and  I  brought  it  away 
with  might  from  the  palace  of  Shu ;  the  domain  of  his 
stars  groweth  young  and  reneweth  the  strength  which 
it  had  of  old.  I  have  brought  the  boat  into  the  lakes 
thereof,  so  that  I  may  come  forth  into  the  cities  thereof, 
and  I  have  sailed  into  their  divine  city  Hetep.  And 
behold,  it  is  because  I,  even  I,  am  at  peace  with  his 
seasons,  and  with  his  direction,  and  with  his  territory, 
and  with  the  company  of  the  gods  who  are  his  first¬ 
born.  He  maketh  Horus  and  Set  to  be  at  peace  with 
those  who  watch  over  the  living  ones  whom  he  hath 
created  in  fair  form,  and  he  bringeth  peace  ;  he  maketh 
Horus  and  Set  to  be  at  peace  with  those  who  watch 
over  them.  He  cuttetli  off  the  hair  from  Horus  and 

1  I.e.y  the  Eye  of  Ra  and  the  Eye  of  Horus. 


190  THE  ELYSIAN  FIELDS. 

Set,  he  driveth  away  storm  from  the  helpless,  and 
he  keepeth  away  harm  from  the  spirits  (khu).  Let 
me  have  dominion  within  that  field,  for  I  know  it, 
and  I  have  sailed  among  its  lakes  so  that  I  might 
come  into  its  cities.  My  mouth  is  firm,1  and  I  am 
equipped  to  resist  the  spirits  (khu),  therefore  they 
shall  not  have  dominion  over  me.  Let  me  be  rewarded 
with  thy  fields,  0  thou  god  Hetep ;  but  that  which 
is  thy  wish  do,  0  thou  lord  of  the  winds.  May  I 
become  a  spirit  therein,  may  I  eat  therein,  may  I 
drink  therein,  may  I  plough  therein,  may  I  reap 
therein,  may  I  fight  therein,  may  I  make  love  therein, 
may  my  words  be  mighty  therein;  may  I  never  be 
in  a  state  of  servitude  therein  ;  but  may  I  be  in 
authority  therein.  Thou  hast  made  strong  the  mouth 
(or  door)  and  the  throat  (?)  of  Hetep ;  Qetet-bu  is  his 
name.  He  is  stablished  upon  the  pillars2  of  Shu, 
and  is  linked  unto  the  pleasant  things  of  Ea.  He  is 
the  divider  of  years,  he  is  hidden  of  mouth,  his  mouth 
is  silent,  that  which  he  uttereth  is  secret,  he  fulfilleth 
eternity  and  hath  possession  of  everlasting  existence 
as  Hetep,  the  lord  Hetep. 

“  The  god  Horus  maketh  himself  to  be  strong  like 
unto  the  Hawk  which  is  one  thousand  cubits  in 
length,  and  two  thousand  [cubits  in  width]  in  life ; 

1  I.e.,  I  know  how  to  utter  the  words  of  power  which  I  possess  with 
vigour. 

2  I.e.,  the  four  pillars,  one  placed  at  each  cardinal  point,  which 
support  the  sky. 


THE  ELYSIAN  FIELDS. 


IQI 

he  hath  equipments  with  him,  and  he  journey eth  on 
and  cometh  where  his  heart’s  throne  wisheth  to  be  in 
the  Pools  [of  Hetep]  and  in  the  cities  thereof.  He  was 
begotten  in  the  birth-chamber  of  the  god  of  the  city, 
offerings  of  the  god  of  the  city  are  made  unto  him, 
he  performeth  that  which  it  is  meet  to  do  therein,  and 
causeth  the  union  thereof,  and  doeth  everything  which 
appertaineth  to  the  birth-chamber  of  the  divine  city. 
When  he  setteth  in  life,  like  crystal,  he  performeth 
everything  therein,  and  the  things  which  he  doeth 
are  like  unto  the  things  which  are  done  in  the  Lake 
of  Twofold  Fire,  wherein  there  is  none  that  rejoiceth, 
and  wherein  are  all  manner  of  evil  things.  The  god 
Hetep  goeth  in,  and  cometh  out,  and  goeth  backwards 
[in]  that  Field  which  gathereth  together  all  manner 
of  things  for  the  birth-chamber  of  the  god  of  the  city. 
When  he  setteth  in  life,  like  crystal,  he  performeth 
all  manner  of  things  therein  which  are  like  unto  the 
things  which  are  done  in  the  Lake  of  Twofold  Fire, 
wherein  there  is  none  that  rejoiceth,  and  wherein  are 
all  manner  of  evil  things. 

“  Let  me  live  with  the  god  Hetep,  clothed  and 
not  plundered  by  the  lords  of  the  north,  and  let  the 
lord  of  divine  things  bring  food  unto  me.  Let  him 
make  me  to  go  forward,  and  let  me  come  out,  and 
let  him  bring  my  power  unto  me  there;  let  me 
receive  it,  and  let  my  equipment  be  from  the  god 
Hetep.  Let  me  gain  the  mastery  over  the  great  and 


192 


THE  ELYSIAN  FIELDS. 


mighty  word  which  is  in  my  body  in  this  place 
wherein  I  am,  for  by  means  of  it  I  will  remember 
and  I  will  forget.  Let  me  go  forward  on  my  way 
and  let  me  plough.  I  am  at  peace  with  the  god 
of  the  city,  and  I  know  the  waters,  and  the  cities, 
and  the  nomes,  and  the  lakes  which  are  in  Sekhet- 
Hetep.  I  exist  therein,  I  am  strong  therein,  I  have 
become  a  spirit  (khu)  therein,  I  eat  therein,  I  sow 
seed  therein,  I  reap  the  harvest  therein,  I  plough 
therein,  I  make  love  therein,  and  I  am  at  peace  with 
the  god  Hetep  therein.  Behold  I  scatter  seed  therein, 
I  sail  about  among  its  lakes,  and  I  advance  to  the 
cities  thereof,  0  divine  Hetep.  Behold,  my  mouth  is 
provided  with  my  [teeth  which  are  like]  horns ;  grant 
me  therefore  an  overflowing  supply  of  the  food 
whereon  the  ‘  Doubles  ’  (kau)  and  the  Spirits  (khu) 
do  live.  I  have  passed  the  judgment  which  Shu 
passeth  upon  him  that  knowetli  him,  therefore  let  me 
go  forth  to  the  cities  of  [Hetep],  and  let  me  sail 
about  among  its  lakes,  and  let  me  walk  about  in 
Sekhet-Hetep.  Behold  Ba  is  in  heaven,  and  behold 
the  god  Hetep  is  the  twofold  offering  thereof.  I  have 
come  forward  to  the  land  [of  Hetep],  I  have  girded 
up  my  loins  and  come  forth  so  that  the  gifts  which 
are  about  to  be  given  unto  me  may  be  given,  and  I 
am  glad,  and  I  have  laid  hold  upon  my  strength 
which  the  god  Hetep  hath  greatly  increased  for 


THE  ELYSIAN  FIELDS. 


193 

“0  Unen-em-hetep,1  I  have  entered  into  thee,  and 
my  soul  followeth  after  me,  and  my  divine  food  is 
upon  my  hands.  0  Lady  of  the  two  lands,2  who 
stablishest  my  word  whereby  I  remember  and  forget, 
let  me  live  uninjured,  and  without  any  injury  [being 
done]  unto  me.  0  grant  to  me,  0  do  thou  grant  to 
me,  joy  of  heart ;  make  thou  me  to  be  at  peace,  bind 
thou  up  my  sinews  and  muscles,  and  make  me  to 
receive  the  air.” 

“0  Unen-em-hetep,  0  Lady  of  the  winds,  I  have 
entered  into  thee,  and  I  have  shewn 3  my  head 
[therein].  Ra  sleepeth,  but  I  am  awake,  and  there 
is  the  goddess  Hast  at  the  gate  of  heaven  by  night. 
Obstacles  have  been  set  before  me,  but  I  have 
gathered  together  what  Ra  hath  emitted.  I  am  in 
my  city.” 

“0  Nut-urt,4  I  have  entered  into  thee  and  I  have 
reckoned  up  my  harvest,  and  I  go  forward  to  Uakh.5 
I  am  the  Bull  enveloped  in  turquoise,  the  lord  of  the 
Held  of  the  Bull,  the  lord  of  the  divine  speech  of  the 
goddess  Septet  (Sothis)  at  her  hours.  0  Uakh,  I  have 
enteied  into  thee,  I  have  eaten  my  bread,  I  have 
gotten  the  mastery  over  choice  pieces  of  the  flesh  of 
oxen  and  of  feathered  fowl,  and  the  birds  of  Shu  have 

1  The  name  of  the  first  large  section  of  Sekhet-Aaru. 

2  A  lake  in  the  second  section  of  Sekhet-Aaru. 

3  Literally,  “opened.” 

4  The  name  of  a  lake  in  the  first  section  of  Sekhet-Aaru. 

5  The  name  of  a  lake  in  the  second  section  of  Sekhet-Aaru. 


0 


194 


THE  ELYSIAN  FIELDS. 


been  given  unto  me ;  I  follow  after  the  gods,  and  the 
divine  *  Doubles  ’  (kau).” 

“0  Tchefet,1  I  have  entered  into  thee.  I  array 
myself  in  apparel,  and  I  have  guarded  myself  with 
the  Sa  garment  of  Ra ;  now  behold,  he  is  in  heaven, 
and  those  who  dwell  therein  follow  him,  and  I  also 
follow  Ra  in  heaven.  0  Unen-em-hetep,  lord  of 
the  two  lands,  I  have  entered  into  thee,  and  I  have 
plunged  into  the  lakes  of  Tchesert ;  behold  me  now, 
for  all  uncleanness  hath  departed  from  me.  The  Great 
God  groweth  therein,  and  behold,  I  have  found  [food 
therein] ;  I  have  snared  feathered  fowl  and  I  feed 
upon  the  finest  of  them.” 

“  0  Qenqentet,2  I  have  entered  into  thee,  and  I  have 
seen  the  Osiris  [my  father],  and  I  have  gazed  upon 
my  mother,  and  I  have  made  love.  I  have  captured 
the  worms  and  serpents  [which  are  there]  and  have 
delivered  myself.  I  know  the  name  of  the  god  who 
is  opposite  to  the  goddess  Tchesert,  who  hath  straight 
hair  and  is  provided  with  horns;  he  reapeth,  but  I 
both  plough  and  reap.” 

“  0  Hast,3  I  have  entered  into  thee,  and  I  have 
driven  back  those  who  would  come  to  the  turquoise 
[sky] ;  and  I  have  followed  the  winds  of  the  com¬ 
pany  of  the  gods.  The  Great  God  hath  given  my 
head  unto  me,  and  he  who  hath  bound  on  me  my 

1  The  name  of  a  district  in  the  third  section  of  Sekhet-Aaru. 

2  The  name  of  a  lake  in  the  first  section  of  Sekhet-Aaru. 

*  The  name  of  a  lake  in  the  third  section  of  Sekhet-Aaru. 


THE  ELYSIAN  FIELDS. 


195 

head  is  the  Mighty  One  with  the  eyes  of  turquoise, 
t'mt  is  to  say,  Ari-en-ab-f  (i.e.,  He  who  doeth  as  he 
pleaseth).” 

0  Useit,1  I  have  come  unto  thee  at  the  house 
where  the  divine  food  is  brought  unto  me.” 

“  0  Smam,2  I  have  come  unto  thee.  My  heart 
watcheth,  and  I  am  provided  with  the  white  crown. 
I  am  led  into  celestial  regions,  and  I  make  the  things 
of  earth  to  flourish;  and  there  is  joy  of  heart  for  the 
Bull,  and  for  celestial  beings,  and  for  the  company  of 
the  gods.  I  am  the  god  who  is  the  Bull,  the  lord  of 
the  gods  as  he  goeth  forth  from  the  turquoise 

[sky].” 

“  O  divine  nome  of  wheat  and  barley,  I  have  come 
unto  thee,  I  have  come  forward  to  thee,  and  I  have 
taken  up  that  which  followeth  me,  namely,  the  best  of 
the  libations  of  the  company  of  the  gods.  I  have  tied 
my  boat  in  the  celestial  lakes,  I  have  lifted  up  the  post 
at  which  to  anchor,  I  have  recited  the  prescribed  words 
with  my  voice,  and  I  have  ascribed  praises  unto  the 
gods  who  dwell  in  Sekhet-hetep.” 

Other  joys,  however,  than  those  described  above, 
await  the  man  who  has  passed  satisfactorily  through 
the  judgment  and  has  made  his  way  into  the  realm  of 
the  gods.  For,  in  answer  to  a  long  petition  in  the 
Papyrus  of  Ani,  which  has  been  given  above  (see 

1  The  name  of  a  lake  in  the  third  section  of  Sekhet-Aaru. 

2  The  name  of  a  lake  in  the  third  section  of  Sekhet-Aaru. 


196  THE  DELIGHTS  OF  THE  BLESSED. 

p.  33  f.),  the  god  Ba  promises  to  the  deceased  the 
following :  “  Thou  shalt  come  forth  into  heaven,  thou 
shalt  pass  over  the  sky,  thou  shalt  be  joined  unto  the 
starry  deities.  Praises  shall  be  offered  unto  thee  in 
thy  boat,  thou  shalt  be  hymned  in  the  Atet  boat,  thou 
shalt  behold  Ba  within  his  shrine,  thou  shalt  set 
together  with  his  Disk  day  by  day,  thou  shalt  see  the 
ant  1  fish  when  it  springeth  into  being  in  the  waters  of 
turquoise,  and  thou  shalt  see  the  abtu  1  fish  in  his  hour. 
It  shall  come  to  pass  that  the  Evil  One  shall  fall  when 
he  layeth  a  snare  to  destroy  thee,  and  the  joints  of  his 
neck  and  of  his  back  shall  be  hacked  asunder.  Ba 
[saileth]  with  a  fair  wind,  and  the  Sektet  boat  draweth 
on  and  cometh  into  port.  The  mariners  of  Ba  rejoice, 
and  the  heart  of  Nebt-ankh  ( i.e .,  Isis)  is  glad,  for  the 
enemy  of  Ra  hath  fallen  to  the  ground.  Thou  shalt 
behold  Horus  on  the  standing-place  of  the  pilot  of  the 
boat,  and  Thoth  and  Maat  shall  stand  one  upon  each 
side  of  him.  All  the  gods  shall  rejoice  when  they 
behold  Ba  coming  in  peace  to  make  the  hearts  of  the 
shining  ones  to  live,  and  Osiris  Ani,  triumphant,  the 
scribe  of  the  divine  offspring  of  the  lords  of  Thebes, 
shall  be  along  with  them.” 

But,  not  content  with  sailing  in  the  boat  of  Ba  daily 
as  one  of  many  beatified  beings,  the  deceased  hoped 
to  transform  each  of  his  limbs  into  a  god,  and  when 
this  was  effected  to  become  Ba  himself.  Thus  in 

1  The  name  of  a  mythological  fish  which  swam  at  the  how  of  the 
boat  of  Ka. 


THE  DEIFICATION  OF  MEMBERS  197 

Chapter  XLII.  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  1  the  deceased 
says — 

“  My  hair  is  the  hair  of  Xu. 

“  My  face  is  the  face  of  the  Disk. 

“  My  eyes  are  the  eyes  of  Hathor. 

“  My  ears  are  the  ears  of  Ap-uat. 

"  My  nose  is  the  nose  of  Khenti-Khas. 

“  My  lips  are  the  lips  of  Anpu. 

“  My  teeth  are  the  teeth  of  Serqet. 

“  My  neck  is  the  neck  of  the  divine  goddess  Isis. 

“  My  hands  are  the  hands  of  Ba-neb-Tattu. 

“  My  fore-arms  are  the  fore-arms  of  Keith,  the  Lady 
of  Sai's. 

"  My  backbone  is  the  backbone  of  Suti. 

“  My  phallus  is  the  phallus  of  Osiris. 

“  My  reins  are  the  reins  of  the  Lords  of  Kher-aba. 

My  chest  is  the  chest  of  the  Mighty  one  of  terror. 
“My  belly  and  back  are  the  belly  and  back  of 
Sekhet. 

“  My  buttocks  are  the  buttocks  of  the  Eye  of  Horus. 

“  My  hips  and  legs  are  the  hips  and  legs  of  Nut. 

“  My  feet  are  the  feet  of  Ptah. 

“  My  fingers  and  my  leg-bones  are  the  fingers  and 
leg-bones  of  the  Living  Gods.” 2 

And  immediately  after  this  the  deceased  says: 

1  See  The  Chapters  of  Coming  Forth  by  Day ,  p.  93. 

2  The  idea  of  the  deification  of  the  human  members  was  current 
already  in  the  Vlth  dynasty.  See  Eecueil  de  Travaux ,  tom.  viii, 
pp.  87,  88. 


198  THE  OBJECT  OF  TRAVERS  AND  AMULETS 

“  There  is  no  member  of  my  body  which  is  not  the 
member  of  a  god.  The  god  Thoth  shieldeth  my  body 
altogether,  and  I  am  Ea  day  by  day.” 

Thus  we  see  by  what  means  the  Egyptians  believed 
that  mortal  man  could  be  raised  from  the  dead,  and 
attain  unto  life  everlasting.  The  resurrection  was  the 
object  with  which  every  prayer  was  said  and  every 
ceremony  performed,  and  every  text,  and  every  amulet, 
and  every  formula,  of  each  and  every  period,  was 
intended  to  enable  the  mortal  to  put  on  immortality 
and  to  live  eternally  in  a  transformed  glorified  body. 
If  this  fact  be  borne  in  mind  many  apparent  difficulties 
will  disappear  before  the  readers  in  this  perusal  of 
Egyptian  texts,  and  the  religion  of  the  Egyptians  will 
be  seen  to  possess  a  consistence  of  aim  and  a  steadiness 
of  principle  which,  to  some,  it  at  first  appears  to  lack. 


THE  END. 


PRINTED  BY  WILLIAM  CLOWES  AND  SONS,  LIMITED,  LONDON  AND  BECCLES. 


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